Artists from the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre of China perform "Legend of White Snake" during Helsinki Festival 2015 at the Alexander Theatre in Helsinki, Finland, Aug. 26, 2015. (Photo: Xinhua/Li Jizhi)
Sitting in the lobby lounge of a major theater in downtown Helsinki, Antti Silvennoinen and Elias Edstrom could now relax with two physically exhausting Beijing Opera shows under their belts, which met with praise from both national press and professional critics alike last week.
The two sold-out shows mounted by the duo was part of the two-week-long Helsinki Festival 2015, which features a special focus on Chinese traditional and modern arts.
Adhering to the traditional form of Beijing Opera, The Last Warrior, set in the period of the Song Dynasty in China, tells the story of a young warrior, driven by his courage and self-reliance, striving to defeat the invasion of enemies by himself -- a courage that will ultimately result in his demise.
It was an impressive display of stupendously versatile acting and skillfully executed choreography that not only demands unique talent but also to tremendous physical strain.
The play, produced by Wusheng Company, which was cofounded by Silvennoinen and Edstrom, was performed unabridged and lasted two hours. Such a show was rare on the European continent where Beijing Opera is usually performed in selected sections.
Silvennoinen and Edstrom said previous performances put on by Chinese speaking cast members typically took the form of a ten-minute short play.
Wusheng Company's performance was also delivered entirely in Finnish. "In Finland, Chinese culture has typically been communicated to the Finnish audience by Finnish professionals. This tradition has been thoroughly consistent over the years," Edstrom commented.
Aside from sharing a long-stemming passion for acting and an educational background in physical theatre, the two have also studied Beijing Opera acting in Beijing.
"My love for Beijing Opera didn't come out of love for Chinese culture per se, but rather out of a love for the art form itself," Silvennoinen pointed out.
Edstrom, on the other hand, told of how his interest for martial arts eventually became a contributing factor in his keen interest in China.
After spending a semester in China, Edstrom later returned to do his master's degree there, becoming the first European to graduate from the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts.
Silvennoinen and Edstrom founded Wusheng Company in 2011. Their concept is in many ways unique and is constantly evolving.
"Wusheng Company initially started as a way of making it possible for us to perform Beijing Opera in Finland. Now it's more about utilizing elements of Beijing Opera as well as our own personal background to create really unique art," Silvennoinen said.
"For us this is not about politics, philosophy or even promoting Chinese culture," Edstrom added. "It is about the love for this particular art form, about drawing inspiration from it in order to create our own unique brand of art."
Edstrom believed the break from the realism of Western theater contributes to Beijing Opera's fascination for many Europeans. "We need to keep in mind that Beijing Opera is, after all, a very stylized and unrealistic theater form, vastly different from anything you will see on a stage in Finland."
