Peking Opera

Chaoyang Cultural Palace

"Xu Wei is the Chaoyang Cultural Palace, and the palace is Xu Wei." This is how Li Xuefeng, a veteran photographer, usually introduces Xu Wei. He considers it the only proper way to describe Xu, 42, the director of the Chaoyang Cultural Palace. "I devote all my time and energy to running this place," Xu said. It seems "I have no spare time at all." Located 1.5 kilometers east of Hujialou, Dongsanhuan Lu, the Chaoyang Cultural Palace is one of the ten best cultural palaces in the country.

Shakespeare and Huguang Guild Hall's Peking Opera

"Why it reminds me of Shakespeare's Globe Theater," remarked visitingprofessor of English Robert Foley when he attended the opera at Beijing's Huguang Guild Hall. "You have the same projecting stage with two pillars, galleries where the audience can sit, music during the show. You can even munch on food during thee play as they did in Elizabethan times."

Tangenyuan Restaurant

Beijing flavor isn't confined to the food at the vibrant Tangenyuan restaurant, near the east gate of Ditan Park. From the rickshaw boys waiting to ferry you the final 50 yards to the Peking Opera skits on stage, an evening at Tangenyuan captures enough old capital culture to keep visitors coming back again and again.

Zheng Yi Ci Theatre

Manager Wang assures me that Zheng Yi Ci, like most other traditional theatres in the city, frequently stages shows for local Chinese people at reduced ticket prices. But it is the tourist money that keeps the theatre alive. Wang stresses the importance of cultural education of the young people of China so that they may appreciate their own civilization's rich legacy in the performing arts. But right now, as manager of the theatre troupe, Wang bears the uneasy task of balancing Peking Opera as art and Peking Opera as tourist attraction.

Face to Face: Masks of the Peking Opera
To the uninitiated spectator, the rich colors painted boldly across the faces of Peking Opera performers are no more than a vivid adjunct to the Opera"s spectacular combination of music, drama, dance and acrobatics. Yet the simple design of the face paintings, or lian pu, is actually closely related to traditional Chinese painting in which abstract color conceals profound meaning.

Chinese Version "A Doll's House"

"A Doll's House" will be performed in the Small Theatre of the China National Experimental Theatre from April 1 to 11. The theater is located in Di'anmen near the Drum Tower at 45A Mao Er Hutong.

What a mass will it be? A brand-new Chinese version of Ibson's "A Doll's House". Bi-lingual conversation between Norway actress and Chinese drama stars.

Stranger from a Different Shore

The story of a man who found his answers in the Peking Opera.

In a little yard permeated with the smell of the past, the early-morning cool is just starting to vanish in the autumn sun. I am here to meet a legendary hero, wrapped up in all kinds of mystique by newspaper stories without number. Instead, I meet Ghaffar Pourazar.

Piao You: Friends of Peking Opera

Just south of Liulichang Antiques Street is the Huguang Assembly Hall, a charming old-style building with a courtyard at the back. The main feature is the large, two-storied auditorium and stage, which are decorated in ancient Chinese style. This is the home of the piao you, an informal organization whose only qualification for membership is that you can sing at least one aria from a Peking Opera.

Traditional Chinese Music
If your visiting Expats In China from outside of China and are interested in learning more about traditional Chinese Music, here are a few music CDs from Amazon that you might be of interest to you:

Chinese Opera:

Night at the Chinese Opera-Com - a 2 CD set of Chinese Opera songs

Volume. 4-Shanghai & Huang Mei Opus and Xiao, Ma, Gu and Others - both are wonderful introductions to Chinesea opera but with limited availibity on Amazon

Other:

Flowing Stream: Chinese Folk Songs by Zhou Long - a wonderful selection of Chinese folk tunes

Chinese Music for the Pipa - features music with the pipa, a traditional Chinese instrument

Chinese Piano Concertos - a rich infusion of the western instrumentation and Chinese copositions

"Butterfly Lovers" Violin Concerto: Six Chinese Violin Pieces - if you are a violin enthusiast, this CD comes highly reccomended