National
Theater
July
10
 |
| Red Cliff updates traditional Chinese opera. |
It
would be an exaggeration to say that Prague is being invaded by a
cultural Red Army this week – but not by much. The Beijing Opera
rolled into town over the weekend with a troupe of 160 performers and
support staff, three truckloads of elaborate sets and costumes, and a
production billed as a “blockbuster.”
That
description is not much of an exaggeration, either. Created with an
eye toward capturing younger domestic viewers and building an
international audience, Red Cliff premiered in Beijing in 2008
and went on for a run of 58 performances, attracting more than
100,000 people. Though it draws on the conventions of the
world-famous Peking Opera, Red Cliff was mounted as a
co-production with Chinaʼs National Center for the Performing Arts,
which has been charged with putting a fresh face on traditional
Chinese culture.
So
the production has distinctly modern touches. Peking Opera sets are
usually no more than a table and chairs; this one offers extravagant
multi-tiered facades, spectacular lighting effects and plenty of dry
ice smoke. The costumes make Lady Gaga look banal. And some of
Chinaʼs biggest talents were recruited for the production, including
director Zhang Jigang, who choreographed the opening and closing
ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“The
director paid great attention to keeping basic Peking Opera elements
while adding modern technologies, especially in the lighting,” says
Guan Bo, the National Center producer who is traveling with the
production. “People familiar with the Peking Opera will recognize
certain reference points, but even those have been updated and
enriched.”
 |
| A visual extravaganza. |
The
story concerns a well-known battle from the Three Kingdoms period in
China (around 200 AD), when the founders of the Wu and Shu kingdoms
combined forces to defeat the warlord Cao Cao and drive him back to
the north. Foreigners may have problems keeping up with the
intricacies of the plot, which starts with Cao Caoʼs declaration of
war and climaxes with two big battle scenes. But many of the visual
elements need no translation: 10,000 arrows flying through the air,
roaring flames on a cliff, battleships clashing on the Yangtze River.
The
music is performed by an 18-piece orchestra playing mostly
traditional Chinese instruments. The singers do not fall into
standard Western vocal categories – soprano, tenor, etc. –
relying instead on acting to develop characterization. And for this
performance, there will be Czech surtitles (though none, alas, in
English).
Trimmed
in length and scaled down to fit on European stages, Red Cliff
represents the National Centerʼs inaugural effort to export Chinese
culture, and was chosen with modern branding in mind. “We have many
good productions that could go abroad,” Bo says. “We felt this
was the most representative of China, and exemplifies what the
National Center stands for.”
Asked
what he hopes local audiences will get from the performance, Bo says,
“The same thing people go to Western operas for – an interesting
story, great music, singing and acting. Of course, we also hope this
will be an engine to encourage people to learn more about traditional
Chinese culture.”
Prague
is the last stop for Red Cliff, which also played in Vienna
and Budapest the past two weeks. If audience reaction is any measure,
the tour has been a success.
“The
Burgtheater in Vienna has no air-conditioning, so the audiences sat
through a three-hour performance in nearly 40 degree temperatures,”
Bo says. “Still, we sold out the opening performance and had 80-90
percent ticket sales the other nights. So I would say we had a warm
welcome there. Really warm.”
For
more on the production and ticket information:
http://www.narodni-divadlo.cz/Default.aspx?jz=en&dk=predstaveni.aspx&sb=179&ic=5910&pr=93832
Photos courtesy of the National Theater
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