Two new shows to kick off Beijing music fest

Director Chen adopts an entirely modern approach to the classic Chinese story The Orphan of Zhao. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"I wanted to create a new version of this story based on the classics, but break away from the usual limitations of Peking Opera to create a contemporary theater vocabulary that would resonate with today's audiences," says Chen. "I'm interested in exploring the relationship between contemporary art forms and their public appeal in metropolitan cities like Beijing. What can artists offer? In other words, why do people go to the theater to watch Peking Opera?

"Tradition is not merely about form; it's about the spirit that the form is built upon. The core value of inheriting tradition, in my opinion, is to let its spirit live in the life that surrounds us," he adds.

The orchestra not only uses traditional Chinese musical instruments such as the erhu, sanxian and gong, but also has a five-piece band of Western musical instruments, including the violin, cello and harp. The director also uses interactive multimedia techniques as a vehicle to convey the inner voices of the characters.

"Keeping the traditional music style of Peking Opera is the core of the adaptation," says 80-year-old conductor Hu Bingxu, one of the most prominent conductors in China, who is not only the resident conductor at the Peking Opera Theater Company of Beijing but also a former conductor of several national companies, such as the China National Symphony Orchestra. "Usually Peking Opera has simple stage sets, such as a table and two chairs. But Chen's innovations help the audience, especially younger people who have never seen a Peking Opera show before, to understand this traditional Chinese art."

As for The Orphan of Zhao, Chen adopted an entirely modern approach.