The Peking Opera staged two of its masterpieces, both Chinese classics, in the United Kingdom for the first time in a decade, according to a report by China Daily.
Known as Jingju in Chinese, the Peking Opera is a traditional Chinese form of theater that dates back to the 18th century. The opera involves telling a narrative using a combination of vocal narrations, music, acrobatics, acting, martial arts and dance.
The show began on Nov. 11 in Liverpool. It then traveled to London and closed on Sunday.
The two operas staged were "Farewell My Concubine," a tale of a king's concubine who kills herself because she refuses to be captured by enemy forces, and "The Warrior Women of Yang," a story depicting courage and patriotism among women in ancient China. Both plays are Chinese classics.
"The storylines have many ups and downs, giving audiences a chance to view Peking Opera's grand momentum," said Sun Guiyuan, the national director of the theater company. "The two plays reveal the performing styles and the best of martial arts in this art form."
The troupe of over 60 singers, actors and musicians made adjustments to the script to cater to Western audiences, who are not familiar with the form.
"Peking Opera usually takes three hours which is long by standards of Western drama," said Sun. "So we changed it to two and half, including a break in between. We also omitted some scenes to make the script tighter."
"As Peking Opera is unfamiliar to British audiences, we exaggerate our moves and gestures to help audiences understand the content," said Yu Kui-zhi, who plays the lead role in both plays.
The British tour of the Peking Opera is organized by Zhang Kewei, president of Sinolink, a London-based company that spreads Chinese art and culture to the world.
"I watched the performance of China National Peking Opera Company in London 10 years ago," said Zhang. "It left a very strong impression on me. So I've always waited for its return."