Kerala - Thrissur   

On stage, the Peking Opera

CULTURAL TREASURE: A scene from ‘The Monkey King’ to be staged at the International Theatre Festival of Kerala.

Thrissur: An ensemble cast in classical make-up and costumes will bring alive the grandeur and elegance of Peking Opera (Beijing Opera) at the International Theatre Festival of Kerala, which begins here on December 22. Zhejiang Peking Opera Troupe, one of the seven provincial troupes in China, will stage the plays, ‘The Lotus Lantern’, ‘The Monkey King’ and ‘Intoxicated Noble Concubine’ under the direction of Wen Guosheng.

The director is a recipient of the China Opera Plum Blossom Prize, Wen Hua prize, White Yulan Magnolia Lead Actor Prize and the Outstanding Director Prize.

The Peking Opera, one of the cultural treasures of China, was created in the 18th century for the court of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty. It is a blend of stylised action, singing, mime, acrobatic fighting and dances. It was banned during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), but was revived later.

‘Lotus Lantern’ (Baoliandeng), based on an ancient Chinese fairy tale, depicts the marriage of a Goddess of Mount Hua and a mortal. Angry over the goddess falling for a mortal, her brother imprisons her. Her son grows to be a valiant fighter, defeats his uncle and sets his mother free.

‘The Monkey King’ shows actors dressed up as monkeys demonstrating martial arts.

‘Intoxicated Noble Concubine’ portrays Yang Yuhuan, a concubine of King Tang, as she travels to a garden to meet him. The lead actors in the plays include Qian Shaobo, Liu Xudong, Weng Guosheng and Wang Xiaoujun. The musicians are Tang Lei, Sun Mami, Yu Xiyong and Yu Shengqiang.

Like Kathakali, Peking Opera assigns costumes and colours to characters on the basis of their nature. The main roles are Sheng (male), Dan (female), Jing (secondary role) and Chou (clown).

Each role has sub-types. For instance, Sheng has sub-types such as laosheng (old man) and xiaosheng (youth). Colours represent personalities or ideas. Perception of colours too are different. In China, white symbolises slyness, black stands for justice, red is for courage, and green shows wildness.

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