Medieval opera and musical impressionism: performers from China will unite on the philharmonic stage the European classics of the XIX century with the traditional musical art of the East
The organizers are: Novosibirsk State Philharmonic Society, Kunqu Opera Theater (Suzhou, China), Educational Center of Novosibirsk State Technical University "Confucius Institute" with the support of Ministry of Culture of Novosibirsk Region and the State Chancellery for the dissemination of the Chinese language (Hanban, PRC).
A large-scale international project has already been presented in several countries: after Vienna and St. Petersburg (where it will be shown in the framework of the VI International Cultural Forum program) two concerts of Chinese artists will be held in Novosibirsk on the stage of Arnold Kats State Concert Hall.
The main guest of the concert program will be the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theater, the keeper and continuer of the traditions of the oldest surviving version of the Chinese opera.
Acquaintance of the spectator with the Celestial Empire opera art will begin on November 21 with a musical performance, I''Fantasie - "Rencontre between Debussy and Du Liniang."
This concert is an initiative of the creative workshop of the famous Shanghai pianist Gu Jieting and Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theater.
The authors of this musical fantasy created in the site-specific genre combined the music of Claude Debussy, the scenic art of opera kunqu and modern visual effects and video art. It turned out into a fresh reading of the centuries-old tradition of the Chinese theater.
In the center of the narrative of the all-conquering power of love is the heroine of the opera "The Peony Pavilion", the daughter of a government councilor Du Liniang, who dreams of happiness with a young man whom she saw in her dream.
Performers: Gu Jieting (piano), Lu Jia (vocals).
November 22 opera “The Peony Pavilion” will be performed on the stage of Arnold Kats State Concert Hall. The opera was staged by Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theater based on the drama of famous Chinese dramatist and litterateur of 16th century Tang Xianzu, known as "Chinese Shakespeare."
The play "The Peony Pavilion" refers to the genre of "narrative about the amazing", it’s a fantastic combination of reality and fantasy, which glorifies love that conquers death. The original text consists of several dozen scenes, with a large number of characters and a complex plot.
The full version of the play, which lasts more than nine hours, is traditionally played in China for three evenings. For the scenic embodiment of "The Peony Pavilion" for Novosibirsk audience, the Suzhou Opera Theater selected only the most vivid, culminating scenes. The production with ten actors and eight musicians tells about the power of love, thanks to which the hero resurrects his deceased beloved.
The Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theater brings its musicians performers on ancient Chinese instruments. Thus, the Novosibirsk audience will fully be able to join the oldest version of the Chinese opera in its most authentic form.
The four-centuries-old composition raises incredibly relevant topics for us: deep dissatisfaction with the environment and the desire to rise above it, the opposition of the emotional subjective beginning of the rationalistic moral imperative, the belief in the all-power of the human heart, uncompromising struggle for finding happiness and freedom.
In the foyer of Arnold Kats State Concert Hall an exhibition of opera artists portraits will be presented with tales of their creative activity in Chinese and Russian. Along with this exhibition, costumes will be exhibited, in which artists of the traditional Chinese opera come on stage. There will also be a series of master classes where Novosibirsk citizens will be able to get acquainted with the samples of the make-up of the kunqu opera and learn how to lay it on masks. Everyone can try themselves in the art of calligraphy and save beautiful memories of this in the form of an inscription.