2017年CRI Opera artists across the Straits to perform together in Beijing

 

Professional players from the Peking and Kunqu operas across the Taiwan Straits will soon be hitting the stage in Beijing.

The driving force behind these shows is the C.K Foo Foundation. The NGO looks forward to helping¹ promote cultural exchanges in China by touring Peking Opera shows.

"The Palace of Eternal Life", "Zhao Kuangyin, the founder² of the Song Dynasty" and "The Lotus Lamp" are scheduled to meet Beijing audiences this weekend.

Xu Fei has more.

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Since 2012, the C.F. Koo Foundation-led Taipei Li-yuan Peking Opera Theatre has cooperated with Poly Theatres on the Chinese mainland. They've presented over 70 shows of 10 classic operas including "The Jester" and "Distance Tests a Horse's stamina³".

Taipei Liyuan was founded in 1998, ten years after its most celebrated⁴ leading actor-director Maestro Li Baochun, came to Taiwan and started his career as a partner in the Koo foundation.

The Koo foundation's project of promoting Chinese Opera is led by Vivien Ku. According to Ku, the cross-Straits cooperation in opera started when they were seeking opera bands to accompany opera shows.

Vivien Ku recalls:

"About 30 years ago, there were few qualified⁵ opera bands in Taiwan. Due to a shortage of good teachers, learners could not figure out what to do, and had to rely on videos to teach them. As a result, everyone had to fumble⁶ on his or her own. We thought it was impossible to stage a good play without a qualified band. We had been looking for years for good opera bands that could play the jinghu and the yueqin, the Chinese traditional musical instruments. Then an opera band from the Chinese mainland came to help and they rehearsed with us in Taiwan for more than a month. That was our first-ever hand in hand cooperation. When they departed, all the artists from the mainland were very sad. Upon their return to the mainland, they wrote to me, describing their experiences in Taiwan as the most creative time in their careers."

Later, as the opera shows were increasing in popularity in Taiwan, Taipei Liyuan began inviting⁷ mainland opera singers on stage. At the moment at least half of the performers are from the Chinese mainland while the other half is from Taiwan.

During Taipei Li-yuan Peking Opera Theatre's ongoing⁸ tour in Beijing, all three shows are given by three performing artists from Taipei and three from the mainland. The mainland opera artists are selected from Tianjin Peking Opera Theatre and Suchou Kunqu Opera Theatre.

Vivien Ku again:

"Escorting Jingniang Home" is a part of Kunqu opera "Zhao Kuangyin". The lead actress plays a girl named Jingniang who has been kidnapped by a group of bandits. Actually, the lead actress is a mainlander who married a man from Taiwan. She and her husband met in Beijing when he continued his studies in Beijing. Then they fell in love and moved to Taiwan together. She is a Northern Kunqu Opera performer. We all know that "Escorting Jingniang Home" is a seminal⁹ piece in Northern Kunqu opera. She is quite happy. She'd never dreamt this could happen. She thought her marriage meant she had to permanently¹⁰ quit Kunqu opera stage."

Their course for promoting Chinese performing arts, especially Chinese Opera, has not only facilitated people-to-people exchanges across the Straits, but also brought opera fans closer to the stage.

Alongside their shows at the Poly Theatre in Beijing, Li Baochun and his opera troupe¹¹ have also given short demo shows followed by their interpretations¹³ of the new elements they invented in the adaptation of Peking opera and Kunqu opera.

Finding new changes with excitement, an audience member surnamed Li promised she would come for sure to watch all three shows at the Poly Theatre.

"I'm sixty years old now. I watched these three opera shows with my parents when I was a young child. I plan to review all of them in the theatre. Today, the actors and actresses didn't dress up. Actually the change of opera costumes is complex but pleasant to look at. To me, the tunes¹⁴ sound so pleasant that it could be taken as a form of pop music. I hope not only opera artists but audience members have kept the art form going."

Both the Peking opera and Kunqu opera have gone through several changes over the past few centuries.

Today, Chinese traditional operas are very modern. Li Baochun admits the innovation of Peking opera is a new subject for both mainland and Taiwan artists.

"Take The Lotus Lamp as an example: some audiences compare it to a Broadway musical. In fact, it's not an accurate interpretation¹². By absorbing some rhythms and movements of modern dances as well as new, fashionable music, we make the opera appear different in terms of audio and visual effects. This is one of our bravest endeavors."

Each single show is a testament¹⁵ to the common efforts across the Straits in preserving their shared legacy¹⁶ of Chinese opera.

Vivien Ku again:

"Every time we saw opera performances like this, we cannot help but fully¹⁷ recognize that cross-Straits exchanges are strictly¹⁸ necessary. The more we do in this regard, the more we will benefit from it. Friends made through art can last a long time."

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

3 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

5 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

6 fumble   

vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等，摸索

参考例句：

• His awkwardness made him fumble with the key.由于尴尬不安，他拿钥匙开锁时显得笨手笨脚。
• He fumbled his one-handed attempt to light his cigarette.他笨拙地想用一只手点燃香烟。

7 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

10 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

11 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

12 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

13 interpretations   

n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解

参考例句：

• This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

16 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

18 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。