Opera star pushes boundaries to build audience
Print Edition
AT just 38, rising Peking Opera star Wang Peiyu often describes herself as a “young old artist.” This is a fitting contradiction for Wang, who has made a career for herself as a modern artist, often performing male-character roles, in one of China’s most traditional art forms.
Wang’s interpretations of older gentleman roles has earned her numerous awards and accolades. She has frequently been compared to the legendary Meng Xiaodong, another female performer celebrated for her portrayals of male characters.
As her profile has grown, Wang has ventured into new territory to broaden the appeal of Peking Opera.
Apart from her cross-over performances accompanied by guitar and piano, Wang helped produce a recent music-oriented version of “Zhe Gui Ling” staged at the Shanghai Concert Hall. In what some considered a bold breach of tradition, the show focused on the music of Peking Opera, while a cast of acting luminaries played supporting roles.
“I’m ready to face criticism for breaking with tradition. But in today’s world of diversity and open-mindedness, it’s worth trying something new,” she explained.
During a recent interview with Shanghai Daily, Wang shared her thoughts on her latest ground-breaking show and the place of Peking Opera in the modern art scene.
Q: Why did you take such an innovative approach with “Zhe Gui Ling”?
A: I’m not innovating because traditional Peking Opera isn’t good. Actually, I do it because it’s so good that it’s worth being heard and appreciated by more people. What I’m doing is searching for new possible ways to reach contemporary music lovers. I wanted to attract them not only to my concert, but also to traditional Peking Opera.
Of course, regular visitors to the Shanghai Concert Hall are, in most cases, very different from those who go to traditional regional opera houses. I believed the venue itself could help bring new fans to Peking Opera.
Q: As you mentioned, fans of classical music may not be fans of Peking Opera. Did you have to make any compromises to appeal to the music fans in the audience?
A: Art will be appreciated as long as it is good. I never intentionally compromise to please anyone. Some people criticized our experiments as “self-entertainment.” I think there’s nothing wrong with artists entertaining themselves first. They’ll also entertain others with the same interests.
We did make some changes to make the show fit the venue. Chinese music is an art for zhiyin, a friend keenly appreciative of one’s talents. It is never played in order to conquer the listener, but just to please friends who share the same interests. Therefore, most Chinese musical instruments do not have big resonators, as Western instruments do, which means their volume is relatively low. It took us quite a lot of effort to adjust the audio system to support the show.
Q: How do you see the development of Peking Opera today?
A: Peking Opera became the national opera — and the most popular form of opera in China — to a large extent because of its acceptance of other genres and styles. It has borrowed heavily from various regional opera forms, like Kunqu Opera, Qinqiang Opera, Handiao Opera and Huiju Opera.
We’re not here to break it in order to create something new, but rather to re-gather something that has been lost. Our goal in this is to make Peking Opera better.
Think about all the Peking Opera masters who created their own schools. Did they shape their careers simply by sticking to the old ways? Definitely not. There will be some pain in the transformation process. Some stars will rise, others will fall.
I still spend a great deal of time and energy teaching and staging performances of traditional opera shows to make sure the art form is passed down intact to the next generation. But I’m also open to worthy experiments that will spread the art further.
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