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2007 is the 25th anniversary of the rejuvenation of Sichuan Opera. At the closing ceremony of the10th Chinese Opera Festival held on December 17th, Brave Yi, a Sichuan Opera program, won the Excellent Program Award of Chinese Opera. This year, Sichuan Opera became a frequent winner both in national competititers and the market. As to the achievements from completions, Sichuan Opera has gained numerous of laurels, such as Wenhua Award (conferred by Chinese Ministry of Culture), Fine Art-work Award, Meihua Award (the highest academic award for opera performance in China), and Chinese Opera Festival Award. Meanwhile, Sichuan Opera has expanded its share to the overseas market.
Fruits of Innovation
Talking about the dazzling result that Sichuan Opera achieved this year, Chen Zhili, Principal of Sichuan Opera Troupe, contributed it to the reform of Sichuan Opera. “Based on the traditional art form, we have added some modern elements to attract more young audiences. It’s really an effective innovation,” Chen said. “Meanwhile, Sichuan Opera Troupe is devoted to cultivating famous actors and playwrights and creating popular works. Our effort has been recognized by the audiences and market.”
Sichuan Opera Caters to Foreign Audiences
This year, Sichuan Opera, as a unique art form endowed with magnificent cultural expression, is frequently staged abroad. Thanks to the efforts of the people from inside and outside of drama circles, Sichuan Opera lovers living in different countries are lucky enough to enjoy and appreciate this Chinese artistic specialty in their home countries.
Coming to realize the endangered situation of Sichuan Opera in the home market, the relevant official departments in Sichuan started promoting and marketing the art abroad, opening a new channel for the art form in order to revive it and develop it.
Wherever it’s shown, Sichuan Opera and its performers are warmly welcomed. “Welcome Sichuan Opera to France,” an overseas performing arts center offers. “Singapore will not be a desert of Sichuan Opera any more.” After watching a show, Singaporean audiences are looking forward to another tour performance of Sichuan Opera in the Lion City. As one of the most important venues for cultural exchange between Sichuan and the outside world, Sichuan Opera is seeking a better and more efficient way to attract more overseas audiences. “So far, we have achieved some progress,” said Chen.
The Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre, famous in Singapore, was full of the flavor of Sichuan in June. Some selected Sichuan Opera plays and Sichuan folk dances were staged there, creating a distinct ambience of the unique Sichuan culture.
“Before the performance, we were worried if it was difficult for audiences to understand Sichuan Opera with intricate and complex plots. According to our market investigation, Sichuan Opera had never been shown in the Merlion City before we came here. Therefore, we decided to adopt different forms of performance to satisfy the demand of the audiences,” Chen said. Combining selected Sichuan Opera plays such as San Cha Kou, Sichuan Opera stunts including face-changing and fire-spitting, Sichuan Opera dances like Smart Sichuan Opera Actresses and Banquet in the Shu Palace, and various folk dances of different ethnic groups in western Sichuan. “The box-office hit record high during the 4-day performance. This was our first try to expand in the overseas market by integrating all kinds of programs. The box-office record proved that we can be successful only if we are adaptable,” Cheng said.
Mountain Flame, a newly-created Sichuan Opera play, was performed by the Sichuan Opera Ensemble and staged in the Sichuan Art Academy this September, gaining praise of French audiences. “Mountain Flame is very wonderful! It is this kind of Sichuan Opera that we can understand. We are looking forward to enjoying this Sichuan Opera in France,” a French fan told Chen. “In fact, Mountain Flame is created specially for French audiences,” an official of Sichuan Opera Ensemble said, “making our plays market-oriented for many years, we have found a suitable way to meet the overseas market demand.”
In October, the Mountain Flame crew was invited to perform in France during the France- Luxemburg Art Festival. Before that, a French performing arts company had invited it to tour around Europe. Why is the show so popular in Europe? “It’s an export-oriented Sichuan Opera show which not only incorporates attractive elements popular with western audiences, such as face-changing and fire-spitting but also is of high value of art and culture,” Chen said, “before the creation of Mountain Flame, we had investigated the demand of western audiences, finding that they all like and are acquainted with the well-known Chinese legend, Pilgrimage to the West. So we created a Sichuan Opera play named Mountain Flame, based on the famous legend.”
With the expanding overseas market, meeting the audiences’ demands and tastes has become critical for Sichuan Opera creators and performers. Gaining overseas popularity will promote Sichuan Opera all over the world.
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