Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    Culture
    Home / Culture / Music and Theater

    London gets Peking Opera with a twist

    By JULIAN SHEA in London | China Daily | Updated: 2024-10-24 09:10
    Share
    Share - WeChat
    Chen Xinyi (left), 86, scriptwriter and director of symphony poetry drama Ein Heldenleben: Cai Lun, speaks before the performance in London on Oct 17. [Photo provided to China Daily]

    A production fusing traditional Chinese opera with Western classical music took place in London on Oct 17, with a performance inspired by the life of Cai Lun, the man credited with the invention of paper, at the Jerwood Hall.

    The performance, called Ein Heldenleben: Cai Lun, which translates as A Hero's Life: Cai Lun, was conceived, written and directed by acclaimed Chinese theatrical figure Chen Xinyi, best known for having devised the performance style known as "symphony poetry drama".

    The soundtrack, performed by the Fidelio Orchestra conducted by Raffaello Morales, was composed by Richard Strauss in the 19th century, in a style called a tone poem, a single continuous movement made up of sequences similar to chapters or verses, rather than stand-alone movements, as in a symphony.

    Although Cai Lun's greatest contribution to civilization was his invention of paper, it was his life as an imperial court eunuch during the time of Emperor He of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), and the court intrigues in which he found himself involved, that caught Chen's imagination.

    "He's a giant of China, whose invention changed civilization and advanced cultural progress. But he also experienced misfortune that evoked my sympathy — he is a super dramatic character," she adds.

    With biographical details hard to come by, Chen says that the piece is "inspired by his life, not a portrait of it — it's theater, not a history story".

    Combining a story with music written hundreds of years ago and thousands of kilometers apart may seem unlikely, but Chen says that as soon as she heard Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life) and understood what it was about, the pairing came together.

    The performance is divided into six segments that illustrate the hero's journey through life and the triumphs and adversities he encountered along the way, which Chen says matched Cai's story.

    "In 2019, I was rehearsing an opera at the National Theatre of China and at the end of the day, I was exhausted," she says.

    "The orchestra manager came and said, 'there's a performance tonight of something called The Hero's Life, you have to hear it'. I said no but he ended up pushing me there in a wheelchair.

    "When I got to the venue, I felt like sleeping but as soon as the music started, I began to get visions of Cai Lun, and then I read the program and saw the titles of the different sequences following the hero's journey, and I could see how they fitted together."

    Combining Chinese theater and Western music is a practice Chen has been exploring for the last 20 years, with eight of her symphony poetry dramas having been performed previously, but this was her first time performing in the United Kingdom — something she had long wanted to do.

    "This country is the home of William Shakespeare, who I admire greatly, and there is the connection between him and the great playwright Tang Xianzu, who emerged in China at the same time," she explains. "Then, about 200 years ago, Europe saw the rise of symphonic music at the same time as China saw the rise of Peking Opera, which is a special art form that uses characters to express emotions in the same way that symphonic music does, so these are two great performance styles that I love to bring together, and London is a city where I particularly wanted to do it."

    Chinese opera actors, accompanied by a British orchestra, perform the drama at the event. [Photo provided to China Daily]
    Most Popular
    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    丝袜熟女国偷自产中文字幕亚洲| 日韩网红少妇无码视频香港| 18禁免费无码无遮挡不卡网站| 亚洲日本中文字幕天堂网| 日韩经典精品无码一区| 国产AV无码专区亚洲AV漫画| 一本一道精品欧美中文字幕| 无码av免费一区二区三区试看| 国产成年无码久久久免费| 人妻丝袜中文无码av影音先锋专区| 精品无码国产自产拍在线观看| 精品人妻无码区在线视频| 最近中文字幕视频在线资源| 人看的www视频中文字幕| 精品人妻无码专区中文字幕 | 中文一国产一无码一日韩| 激情无码人妻又粗又大中国人| 精品日韩亚洲AV无码一区二区三区| 91中文在线视频| 亚洲熟妇无码八V在线播放| 办公室丝袜激情无码播放| 日韩免费无码视频一区二区三区| 日韩精品无码一区二区三区AV| 久久久久亚洲精品中文字幕| 中文字幕色婷婷在线视频| 中文字字幕在线中文无码| 中文字幕无码乱人伦| 中文字幕乱码人在线视频1区| 亚欧无码精品无码有性视频| 亚洲av无码成人精品区在线播放| 国产高清无码视频| 亚洲AV无码乱码在线观看性色扶| 国产精品无码DVD在线观看| 九九久久精品无码专区| 久久无码国产| 中文字字幕在线一本通| 波多野结衣中文在线| 最近最新中文字幕高清免费| 区三区激情福利综合中文字幕在线一区亚洲视频1 | 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区久久| 久久久久久久亚洲Av无码|