Chinese opera hits big in small theaters

Tradition turns intimate as audiences get a close-up look at how various styles are created, performed, and expressed, Chen Nan reports.

Li Chanchan and Fan Yuyan, two young students from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing, drew a crowd in a courtyard as they demonstrated a traditional jaw-dropping feat before one unleashed a burst of fire. The flames flared and vanished in an instant, prompting gasps and applause from spectators gathered among the courtyard's gray bricks and tiled roofs.

The demonstration is a signature Qinqiang Opera stage skill: fire-breathing, known for its dramatic visual impact.

Other performers demonstrated the sweeping spear movements of Peking Opera, offering a glimpse of the physical precision and theatrical spectacle that has sustained traditional Chinese opera for generations.

At the 13th Xiqu Opera Black Box Festival, which opened at Star Theaters in Beijing on Oct 14, tradition is also being explored through more intimate, unexpected storytelling forms.

The festival runs through Nov 22 and brings together 16 productions tailored for smaller theaters spanning 11 traditional Chinese opera genres, including Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera, Yuju Opera, Pingju Opera, and Cantonese Opera.

The opening performance, The Face in the Mirror, a Huaiju Opera production, takes audiences into a world of illusion and psychological unease, asking what happens when people finally obtain what they desire.