In the evening of November 24th, a special Peking Opera was held in the International Conference Center, to celebrate the successful opening of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party. This special performance was initiated by Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department and Shenzhen Municipal Sports Tourism Bureau, and organized by Shenzhen Public Culture Association, Shenzhen Public Art Museum, Shenzhen Beijing Opera Friendship Association, as well as Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School.
Two famous Beijing Opera artists Yuan Xiaohai and Tang Kai were invited to give performances that night, which attracted many people to attend the event. The audience consisted of the general public, students and faculty members in the campus and some international faculty members and students.
Yuan Xiaohai, a national top artist, started with introducing the history of the art of Peking Opera and compared the difference between Peking Opera and stage play. “Stage play stems from the real life, and it’s a direct reflection of our real life; while Peking Opera depicts artists’ imagination to some extent, and it’s more like a way of art expressions.” Yuan emphasized. In the following two hours, those professional artists gave the audience in the hall a fantastic Peking Opera performance, ending withOde to the Plum Blossom writtenby Mao Zedong, which was highly praised by the audiences. The repertoire also included Ode to the flag, selections of famous modern Peking Opera like Dujuan Shan, Sha Jiabang, andHong Dengji.
Written by Li Xiao
Edited by Gretta Herrin
