What is the essence? Four skills: singing, dialogue, acting and acrobatics five methods: hand, eye, body, footwork and the overall manner. However, it keeps the essence of a traditional opera as the main body - which is the most important thing for new operas.
Q: What’s the essence of the “New Dragon Inn?”Ī: It is more a comprehensive musical drama than a pure Peking Opera. The show, centered around themes of love and righteousness, features fast-paced action scenes and martial arts stunts, which provides a fascinating aesthetic and visual experience.Īnother highlight is the heroine Shi playing two roles - the passionate Jin Xiangyu and the coldly elegant Qiu Moyan.Īt the rehearsal, Shanghai Daily caught up with Shi Yihong to talk about her new show and the innovation of Peking Opera. In the story, a hero named Zhou Huai’an and his fiancee Qiu Moyan are trying to protect two orphaned children, being chased by a powerful eunuch’s army, and smuggle them out to safety.Īt the Dragon Gate Inn, they meet a charming, seductive innkeeper Jin Xiangyu, who later falls in love with Zhou and becomes involved with his cause. Recently, she has been rehearsing a new production, “New Dragon Inn,” which made its second preview at the National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing on September 13.
The 47-year-old’s innovative fusion of tradition and novelty has proved to be popular with the younger generation while more classical Peking Opera lovers believe the original spirit of the genre should be respected. Shi has raised the bar repeatedly with her avant-garde initiatives, from a new opera adapted from the “Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” to the chamber concert version of “Farewell My Concubine,” to the cross-genre performance themed “Mei, Shang, Cheng, Xun” (four famous Peking Opera artists). Peking Opera artist Shi Yihong, renowned for her versatility and elegance, has for many years been dedicated to staying true to the tradition of Peking Opera but also its evolution and innovation. Shi Yihong starring Jin Xiangyu in the “New Dragon Inn”Īfter 100 years of prosperity, Peking Opera has faced several historical hurdles but arguably its biggest obstacle has been to revitalize and attract a younger audience with each passing generation.
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