Lu Ruitong's schedule was a tight one on December 17, 2023. She had set five alarms between 2:40 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to make sure she would be able to obtain a ticket—not for a pop concert, but for a trendy Chinese opera.
"I'd never been so nervous about getting a ticket," the 23-year-old opera lover told Beijing Review, adding that she has been attending Chinese operas, including Peking Opera, Huangmei Opera (originating from central China's Hubei Province), Kunqu Opera (originating from Jiangsu Province in east China) and, in this case, Shaoxing Opera (originating from east China's Zhejiang Province), at least twice a month for more than 10 consecutive years.
The extremely hard-to-catch performance was called New Dragon Gate Inn (NDGI), performed by Zhejiang Xiaobaihua, a Shaoxing Opera troupe. The opera is very popular with Chinese fans and other netizens alike, and young audiences in particular. On August 6, 2023, the opera troupe set up its own livestream studio on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, which attracted nearly 10 million viewers and 14,000 comments within 24 hours. Known as zhibojian, literally "livestream rooms," these Douyin studios are online spaces that allow content creators to interact with audiences in real time.
On December 14, Lu Yingchuan, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism, said in the first three quarters of 2023, shows and operas staged 342,000 commercial performances nationwide, generating a total revenue of 31.54 billion yuan ($4.41 billion) and drawing 111 million views. He added that NDGI is one of the remarkable works of art with the character of traditional beauty, representing the tastes of young audiences.
Many of Lu Ruitong's friends, who previously had shown no interest in any type of Chinese opera, had asked her about this performance. "Most of them are only interested in plot, but I slipped in some knowledge about the historical connotations of Shaoxing Opera and recommended some other classical operas," she said.
For instance, dating back more than 100 years, Shaoxing Opera is a newcomer among China's more than 360 local operas. It developed from local musical plays that mainly used drums and wooden hand clappers as accompaniment.
Creating a conversation
One of the reasons NDGI has struck a chord with young audiences is that it has created an immersive experience for them. In traditional Chinese operas, the performers remain on stage at all times and the audience is seated in rows of regular chairs to watch the show. In contrast, this play not only allows the audience both to immerse themselves in the story setting by sitting on benches in the "inn" where the story takes place, but also to interact with the actors through eye contact.
"I've seen dozens of Chinese operas, and NDGI is a special one because, in traditional theaters, I felt like an outsider—I just sat there and watched them perform. But this opera invites me into the story—I became a guest at the inn, with a conversation taking place right in front of me," Liu Yaxin, a 19-year-old audience member, told Beijing Review.
Sun Yuxi, NDGI's playwright, told China Central Television that because of the proximity to the audience, the actors tend to "work harder on ways to express delicate emotions and detailed actions, and they make everyone a guest at the inn, which makes the opera complete and accessible to all."
In terms of plot selection, the opera team jumped out of its comfort zone to adapt the 1992 martial arts or wuxia movie New Dragon Gate Inn. Led by a group of renowned actors, including Hong Kong Film Award winner Tony Leung Ka-fai, Berlin International Film Festival Best Actress winner Maggie Cheung and famous martial arts actor Donnie Yen Ji-dan, this classic wuxia tale showcased the strengths of Hong Kong-style martial arts at their peak and has a huge fan base.
Traditional Shaoxing Operas focus on romantic love stories, and it is difficult to incorporate martial arts elements. The NDGI production team combined the film's storylines with the art form of opera, and designed costumes and makeup that are close to those seen on the movie's characters. The performance therefore attracts not only opera audiences, but also wuxia movie fans.
Traditional essentials
NDGI is not the first opera piece to gain popularity by taking a creative risk and combining different art forms.
In recent years, with the burgeoning of social media platforms, many operas have attracted public attention, such as the 2019 movie reworking of Madam White Snake, a Cantonese Opera (originating from southern Guangdong Province) adapted from Stories to Caution the World, the second in a trilogy of widely celebrated Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) vernacular story collections by novelist Feng Menglong. This story has been told on the big and small screen, with both the movie and TV series culminating in sensational successes.
Fang Yan, a doctoral candidate in ancient Chinese literature at Soochow University in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, said some adaptations to new media technology and social media platforms have boosted the promotion of Chinese opera.
"It is especially typical for young people to watch short videos or clips of operas on their mobile screens before buying a ticket," Fang told Beijing Review, adding that the success of some operas on social media platforms might show professionals how to use new media.
But many professionals do harbor one or two concerns about some of the potential changes that might pop up in the pursuit of Chinese operas' greater contemporary presence.
Renowned Kunqu Opera actress Qiu Caiping believes that social media is a good way to promote all genres of Chinese opera, but the future creation of opera should not be trapped or restricted by related platforms.
"The power of social media is impressive. However, we should be extremely cautious in case we end up adapting operas just for media exposure," Qiu told Beijing Review.
"Changes such as interactive immersive theater are acceptable to serve more audiences," she continued. "But some other changes in the field of opera are unacceptable, such as changing opera costumes to hanfu or costumes seen in historical TV series. Traditional opera costumes all have a unique flavor that should be preserved."
Hanfu refers to traditional clothing of the Han Chinese ethnic group with a history of more than 2,000 years, and differs from opera costumes in terms of ornamentation, shape and color.
On the subject of costume changes, Fang supported Qiu's idea. "Some operas have started to use color gradients in their costumes, which don't look good on stage. As a result, so many experts think they should take baby steps when it comes to fundamental changes—such as those of voices and costumes," Fang said.
Chen Lijun, one of the leading actresses in NDGI, said that they have maintained tradition in creation.
"The secret of NDGI's success is that we stuck to basic protocols while breaking new ground. Even though it's a creative play, we adhered to the essential elements of Shaoxing Opera, including vocal techniques, gestures and expressions, which are all acquired through years of traditional opera training," Chen told Art News of China newspaper.
"Whenever I feel lost, I draw new strength from videos of the masters performing traditional operas. It's beneficial for young producers and actors to keep a keen eye on the market. It's also necessary for them to adhere to essential traditions so that they don't sway with every social media trend," Qiu concluded.
Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon
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