This week, 600 Los Angeles elementary and high school students who are learning Mandarin will go outside the classroom to experience firsthand what they have only learned about in school ““ Chinese culture and performance, as presented by the Xiao Baihua Yue Opera Troupe at Freud Playhouse.
Today the public will also have an opportunity to experience the opera troupe from Ningbo, China, celebrating the Year of the Tiger.
In its only West Coast show, the Xiao Baihua Yue Opera Troupe will perform Chinese music, dance and theater, including “Dream of the Red Chamber,” said Susan Pertel Jain, director of the UCLA Confucius Institute, which is funding the event.
Chinese Yue Opera performances are marked by their vivid costumes, females playing male roles, a repertoire of romantic plays and sweet melodies in the natural vocal range.
“Asian performance is multifaceted ““ it combines music, movement, acting and storytelling. It’s often integrated with cultural and ritual performance,” Jain said.
Professionals usually undergo six to eight years of full-time conservatory training starting at age 12 and not only specialize by vocal range but also by movement capabilities.
Several Xiao Baihua Yue Opera Troupe members have won Plum Blossom Awards, China’s equivalent of the Broadway Tony Award, and the company is well-known by its appearances on Chinese television. By touring the United States, the troupe will expose more people to Yue Opera.
“So many artists from China live or pass through L.A. It’s a natural place to present their work,” Jain said.
Qin Zhou studies and performs Yue opera and leads a community-based Yue opera appreciation club in the San Gabriel Valley.
“I know how difficult it is for different-language speakers to enjoy operas of a different culture, but I am sure the rhythm, music and acting explains the meaning of the opera itself,” Zhou said.
Hongyin Tao, professor of Chinese language and linguistics, reiterated the cultural crossover capabilities of international art forms.
“Whether it’s western or eastern performance, if it’s about human emotions, values and quality, it will be appreciated,” Tao said.
Tao also noted the importance the audience and performers have in the preservation of age-old tradition.
“In the age of the Internet, the traditional art forms are not as popular as they were in the past, so you have to make an effort to preserve and develop them,” Tao said. “If we have successful programs that can reach younger generations and different regions, it would encourage this preservation.”