Guilin, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Guangxi's local opera is "unique" and rejuvenated with the world

Written by Chen Qiuxia

In the golden autumn season, 33 repertoires and more than <> events and performances from more than <> countries and regions around the world are staged in Guilin's beautiful landscapes, allowing Chinese and foreign tourists to experience the charm of Guangxi's excellent traditional opera art while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Guilin Yushan Park performed Guilin's color tune "Double Solution" on the spot. Photo by Yang Zongsheng

"This performance allows everyone to see that the local opera genre has its wonders, and it is different from Peking Opera and other genres." Chen Zhenkun, the actor of Song Renzong (Zhao Zhen) in the Guiju opera "Taijun's Resignation", said in an interview on the 3rd.

Guilin has abundant cultural resources of opera, among which Guilin Opera, Cai Tuo, Guangxi Wenchang, and Guilin Fishing Drum have all been included in the list of representative items of China's national intangible cultural heritage. To this day, Guilin's theaters, parks, and polders can be seen everywhere, and they sing for inheritance in the long-sleeved dance.

On Jiefang West Road in Guilin City, the Guangxi Provincial Art Museum with an ochre-red exterior wall witnessed the "Southwest Opera Exhibition" initiated by the older generation of Chinese artists such as Ouyang Yuqian, Xiong Foxi, and Tian Han in the 20s of the 40th century. At that time, Guilin was experiencing new dramas such as drama and opera, as well as traditional arts such as Ping Opera, Guiju Opera, and puppet opera, which were staged on the streets in turn, singing the new voice of the times.

From October 10th to November 27th, the 11 Guilin Arts Festival will be held here. This famous historical and cultural city, which has been nourished by drama culture, continues the glory of the "Southwest Drama Exhibition" and borrows drama to "get out of the circle" again.

Guilin's local repertoire Guiju opera "Splashing Water in Front of the Horse" performance site. Photo by Yang Zongsheng

On November 11, Wu Siting, a national first-class actor from the Guilin Drama Creation Research Center, who won the 3th Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Theatre with the role of Cui Qiaofeng in Guilin Opera "Splashing Water in Front of the Horse", performed the Guilin Opera "Splashing Water in Front of the Horse" for the audience in Yushan Park, Guilin, which attracted bursts of applause.

Guiju is the most representative local opera in Guangxi, which originated in Guilin, and is based on the Guilin dialect according to the words and lines, and the four major lines of life, dan, purity and ugliness are complete. Guiju has a history of more than 300 years and is widely popular in Guilin, Liuzhou and other regions.

In recent years, Guiju has flourished with the simultaneous development of innovative repertoire, the cultivation of young talents, and the introduction of opera into campuses. The Guilin Drama Creation Research Center has successively created many masterpieces such as "Breaking the Array", "Yan Ge Xing" and "Guilin Opera", so that opera can shine in the inheritance.

"We continue to innovate in terms of makeup, costumes, performance forms, repertoire and other aspects to reshape the charm of local opera, attracting more and more audiences, especially young audiences, to enter the theater to experience the artistic charm of traditional drama, and the ancient opera culture is full of vitality." Wu Siting said.

Data map: The color drama "Liu Sanjie" was performed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Courtesy of Guangxi Drama Theater

Guangxi's local opera has strong ethnic customs and distinctive regional characteristics. As the main force in the development of local opera in Guangxi, Guangxi Drama Theater has accumulated, restored and inherited 109 excerpts of local opera and more than 20 traditional repertoire.

Long Qian, president of Guangxi Drama Theater, said that Guangxi has long used "Liu Sanjie" as a brand to promote local dramas into ASEAN countries. When visiting Cambodia, Singapore and other ASEAN countries for exchange performances, a locally elected "Liu Sanjie" will be invited to perform on the same stage as "Liu Sanjie" in Guangxi, which is widely welcomed by the local people.

Long Qian said that the stunts in Chinese local dramas are also very popular overseas. Guangxi Drama Theatre has created a lot of plays based on body language to carry out overseas exchanges. "At the 2017th International Theatre Association World Congress held in Spain in 35, the unique skills of the Guiju opera classic "Beating Sticks Out of the Box", "Changing Clothes in the Box" and "Backflipping into the Box" shocked everyone present, and made me feel the global power of traditional Chinese theater culture."

"Going out" exchange and integration is the way to break the situation. Long Qian said that the Guangxi Drama Theater will strengthen cultural exchanges with ASEAN countries, and plans to rehearse "Clams, Clams, Snails, Clams" adapted from the traditional repertoire of Vietnamese opera next year. (ENDS)