kunqu opera

kunqu opera first appeared in the kunshan area of what is now jiangsu province, and became popular across the country in the ming (1368-1644) and early qing (1644-1911) dynasties, long before the birth of peking opera and other local operas. emperors, officials, intellectuals and the populace appreciated them as an integral part of their leisure.

kunqu opera gave birth to a dozen chinese local operas, including peking opera. as kunqu opera catered more to the highbrow tastes of royal families and intellectuals, it gradually lost favour with the common masses.

during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976), it became nearly extinct.

after the turmoil of that time, kunqu opera was still loved by modern intellectuals, who, like their ancient counterparts, were intoxicated by its art, a perfect combination of literature, poetry, dance, music and local opera. nowadays, young people prefer almost any other form of entertainment to kunqu opera. films, videos, games, pop music, disco and karaoke, all are better than what they see as old-fashioned and dull. kunqu opera has a very small, but very devoted audience.

kunqu was the origin of many traditional chinese operas, including the peking opera. it is also famous for its poetical and refined dialogues and elegant and gentle movements. in spite of its charms, kunqu opera is facing difficulties, which can be seen in its dwindling audiences. some performers are even seeking to change their careers for better incomes.

currently, china has six kunqu opera theatres with only 600 practitioners. thus, china is taking measures to protect and revitalize kunqu opera. the government will build more theatres for audiences and performers. the united nations has joined the chinese government in strengthening protection of the 600-year-old kunqu opera. a senior united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (unesco) counselor, sevastian veg, came to china on july 25, 2001 to discuss with chinese officials ways to protect and develop the opera. veg inspected the beijing-based beifang kunqu opera theatre and jiangsu kunqu opera theatre to get first-hand knowledge about the current status of the opera. unesco is co-operating with the chinese authorities to revitalize the kunqu opera. unesco has consulted with local governments on the latter's 10-year plan aiming to bring more audiences to kunqu opera. veg said unesco has helped local governments to preserve the operas' cultural heritage in the form of a fund-in-trust sponsored by united nations membership countries. unesco listed kunqu opera in a catalogue of 19 "oral and intangible heritages" of the world on may 18, 2001.

the seven-act kunqu opera, features yang yuhuan, a tragic heroine who lived in the tang dynasty (618-907). emperor xuanzong's favourite concubine, she was said to have been forced to commit suicide by the emperor. but there is another version of the story, which says that with the help of japanese statesman abeno nagamaro, yang yuhuan escaped death and fled to japan, and eventually settled down there. she played the role of cultural ambassador, promoting understanding and exchanges between the two countries. the creative opera includes orchestra, music, opera, dance and drama for the first time.

"ban zhao tit," a six-act kunqu opera, which follows the life of ban zhao (c ad 49-ad 120), a female historian of the eastern han dynasty (ad 25-ad 220). born into a family of historian, ban zhao loved to read books in her formative years. after her father and brother died, she carried on their work of writing history books. for years she worked hard without enjoying normal family life--she married, but her husband left her because he could not bear to marry a woman who wrote all day long. but ban zhao persevered until she finished her works in her 7os, dying in solitude. in "ban zhao," large sections of spoken dialogue are used, striking a great contract with kunqu opera classic like "peony pavilion" and "the romance of west chamber." actually, like any other opera, kunqu opera is made up of four parts--songs, dialogue, acting and martial arts. but over the past century, dialogue has been neglected with the introduction of spoken drama because it is commonly believed that one feature that distinguishes the two dramatic forms is the use of dialogue. dialogue is certainly quite differently expressed. while a spoken drama requires an everyday, realistic style, dialogue in kunqu opera rhymes and is literary, making it quite hard to under- stand for the untrained, modern ear. unlike traditional kunqu opera, "ban zhao' has more dialogue than songs. instead of promoting the plot, songs are used as a way of expressing inner feelings. in "ban zhao," the dialogues have more functions. they are not only used to explain the plot, but also to express feelings at critical moments when a monologue or a song would take too long. at the opera's climax at the end of the fourth act, ban zhao sings no songs to express her shock, pain and anger on heating about the death of her beloved husband, who no longer loves her. all is conveyed by the short sentence: "give me back my husband." over the past few decades, chinese operas have generally been regarded as a highly formulated art form, which means that the true inner feelings of the characters have been neglected for the sake of exterior movements.

 

 

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