Of dreams, lovers and apparitions
Cao Ying, vice-president of the China Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre, on the 'mother' of all traditional Chinese operatic art forms
The China Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre, in association with the Bravia Sadir Theatre Festival, is bringing a performance in the Kunqu opera style to India for the first time. Ahead of the 90-minute performance of excerpts from one of the best-known plays in this style, The Peony Pavilion, in New Delhi, Cao Ying, vice-president of the opera theatre group, tells us why audiences internationally find these stories interesting and explains some of the technical and aesthetic elements of the art form. Edited excerpts from an email interview:
Tell us something about the historical background of this performing art. Who were its first patrons/audience?
The Kunqu opera art form stems from the scholarly class (the literati) in south-eastern China (along the Yangtze river, in the environs of Suzhou, not far from modern-day Shanghai). Most often it’s the educated and landed gentry that would enjoy this art form. Performances would take place in people’s private homes, princely palaces, for big family festivities such as birthday banquets, New Year parties, Moon Festival gatherings. The texts for Kun opera are highly literate, it is not considered popular entertainment for the masses.
Could you tell us why the performances lasted as long as 20 hours and how they were traditionally viewed?
Even in the ancient days, although there are epic stories of numerous scenes (the full Peony Pavilion runs for 55 scenes), performances normally would only excerpt certain scenes (the most famous scenes are “An Interrupted Dream" and “The Search for the Dream"). In 1999, the full version of The Peony Pavilion (over 20 hours) was restored and presented in New York’s Lincoln Center to critical acclaim. In 2004, a shorter version (9 hours), distilling some of the essential scenes, was made. However, it is conventional that the most celebrated scenes are excerpted to make a shorter evening ranging from 90 minutes to 3 hours, such as what we’ve done for the Indian tour of the China Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre.
Why should these stories and this style of performance interest audiences today, both in China and around the globe?
The Peony Pavilion is among the four major classics in Kunqu opera, a genre widely considered the “mother" of all traditional Chinese operatic art forms. Chinese traditional opera has always been considered an important source and inspiration for cultural heritage and historical legacy. And Kunqu opera was among the early traditional performing genres recognized by Unesco, as early as 2001, as one of the world’s “intangible cultural heritage of humanity". It is still practised today, with professionals as well as multitudes of fans and amateurs singing those famous arias. Its avid following can also be attributed to Kunqu opera being one of the ancestors of Peking opera (the dominant, national form of traditional opera in China today).
Could you tell us about the costume, stage design and music for ‘The Peony Pavilion’?
Costumes for any traditional performing art form tend to be codified, with each piece of garment serving a purpose to signify the role being played. There is meaning even in the colour of the fabric worn. One of the most distinguishing features of costumes for the female and male leads in traditional Chinese opera would be the “water sleeve"—an extended silk sleeve that almost touches the floor. A slight tremble or wave of the arm would easily be amplified through the sleeves, therefore adding theatricality.
Just like any ancient traditional theatre, there is very little need for elaborate props. The stage sets tend to be abstract, but a set of furniture is de rigueur. Normally referred to as “one table, two chairs", these items contain many possibilities.
Tell us a little bit about the performance aesthetic.
As a performance aesthetic, Chinese opera unfolds with an unbroken connection between movement and vocalization, where every stylized gesture is intrinsically connected to verbalized text. The vocal manner itself divides into four distinct approaches: accompanied melodic singing, stylized verse recitation, prose dialogue, and non-verbal vocalization. Depending on the character and the dramatic situation, singing can range from high, well-cultivated falsetto to lower-pitched singing in the natural speaking range.
The instruments used in Chinese opera divide into tuned instruments—including bamboo flutes (di), bowed fiddles (erhu, jinghu), and plucked strings (yueqin, sanxian)—and percussion, which includes drums (gu), bamboo clappers (ban), cymbals (bo), bells (zhong) and gongs (luo). The Peking opera gong, with its upward-sweeping pitch, is one of the most distinctive sounds in percussion. Shows that are heavy in narration and singing rely on tonal instruments (in kunqu, the flute generally doubles the vocal line).
Also, traditional Chinese opera is not fully scored. Rather, the text is generally annotated by a music director to indicate which standard tune-types will fit with what text. Punctuation in the verbal delivery, as well as general emotional states, are generally indicated by percussion instruments.
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