If you're interested in enjoying an evening of Chinese opera, but the Peking style is a bit too harsh-sounding for your taste, kunqu (
Seden Society (
Seden Society, previously known as Women's Group Theater (
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CKS CULTURAL CENTER
Kunqu has a 600-year his-tory, 400 years more than that of the relatively young Peking opera. It emerged from Kunshan in Jiangsu Province, then spread to nearby provinces, later finding favor in Beijing's imperial courts. Kunqu is noted for its flowing melodies and especially poetic language, which made it a favorite of aristocratic audiences. It is subtler and more refined than its younger, more popular sister from the north.
Less popular, but still brilliant in its own right, kunqu caught the eye of UNESCO and became a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" in 2001, an honor given to 19 other outstanding "endangered" cultural forms of expression from different regions of the world. Kunqu was the only Chinese art form that was included.
Seden's Portrait of Love demonstrates exactly why kunqu shouldn't be allowed to disappear. It's a selection from the kunqu classic West Tower Records (
While the poetic lines require at least high-school-level Chinese to appreciate, the style of delivery walks the thin-but-captivating line between expressive and exaggerated. The songs are melodic and soulful, and they avoid the harsh, high pitch that turns many an unaccustomed ear away from Peking Opera.
One of Portrait of Love's more entertaining elements comes in the form of the clown role, a servant played by Ma Zhao-qi (
Performances will be held in the Experimental Theater on the third floor of the National Theater Hall (21-1 Zhongshan South Road, Taipei) tonight through Sunday night at 7:30pm and also on Sunday for a matinee at 2:30pm. The production will be in Ilan's National Center for the Traditional Arts (
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