Opera "White-Haired Girl" is performed in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 23, 2015. The opera, first staged in 1945, has been one of the country's revolution-era classics for 70 years. (Xinhua file photo/Liang Xu)
The 70-year-old opera "The White Haired Girl" greeted audiences once again with a 3D makeover as familiar melody from the song of "The Blowing North Wind" resonated in a theater in Beijing on Dec. 26.
A visual feast of blowing wind, snowy mountains, pitch-dark night and thunderous storms was provided for audiences during the premiere of the 3D opera. It is the first time that the opera has been presented on the stage in 3D, heralding 3D art piece for Chinese operas.
Remake of classic opera promotes prosperity of literature and art
"The White Haired Girl", a milestone in the development of domestic operas, melts together traditional Chinese folk art with western opera elements, and profoundly interprets the theme of the opera -- "the old society turned a person into a ghost and the new society turns the ghost back into a person."
This year marks the 70 the anniversary since the birth of the opera "The White Haired Girl" in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The theatrical remake of the opera met Beijing's audiences for the first time on Dec. 15. Prior to it, the remake opera has toured nine cities across China such as Yan'an, Taiyuan, Shijiangzhuang, Guangzhou, Changsha, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Jinan and Changchun, putting on 19 shows and attracting 30, 000 audiences during the 10,000-kilometer journey.
Each of the 19 shows has been warmly welcomed by crowded audiences, no matter where the show is held, in an unadorned theater in Yan'an or a gilded opera house in Shanghai.
The premiere of 3D "The White Haired Girl" marks another peak of the commemorative activities for the 70th anniversary of the opera. The 3D opera embodies the spirit of remarks by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on socialist literature and art, emphasizing the people-oriented concept in the production of artistic works.
Classic opera passed on from generation to generation
Over the past seven decades, "The White Haired Girl" has undergone various adaptations, bearing the memories of several generations.
As the newest remake, 3D opera "The White Haired Girl" has He Jingzhi, the original author of the play, oversee the adapted script. Guo Lanying, Wang Kun and Qiao Peijuan serve as the artistic consultants, and Professor Peng Liyuan as the artistic director of the opera. Guo Lanying, the 85-year-old opera performing artist, made her way to Beijing from China's southern city Guangzhou immediately after getting invited to work as an artistic consultant, and spent more than 20 days on the rehearsal of the opera.
Professor Peng Liyuan, who used to win the "Plum Blossom Award", China's highest theatrical award, for playing the heroine "Xi'er" in the opera, took time off her busy schedule to look over the play and provided valuable advice for its modification. She also offered lessons to leading actors and actresses in the opera, and gave demonstrations for the rehearsal of the play.
Other senior artists such as He Jingzhi and Qiao Peijuan also provided suggestions during the whole process.
Apart from gaining support from senior artists, China's Ministry of Culture, which takes the helm of the reproduction, organized a field trip for the cast and crew to a village in north China's Hebei Province, so as to have them get a real taste of the country life and better understand the hardships the characters endured several decades ago.
Audiences thumb up for the remake of "The White Haired Girl"
The new version of the opera "The White Haired Girl" has won great applause from audiences across China, as well as peers in the theatrical industry. Mao Shi'an, deputy head of China Literary and Art Critics Association, described the new version as an "unadorned poem" that retains original emotions and presents new interpretations to keep up with the times.
The 3D opera adopts world's cutting-edge technologies of digital 3D film and surround sound, which brings audiences closer to the performances on the stage. The opera contains more than 15 scenes and employs special effects over 600 times. The 3D video shooting control system used by the camera crew largely shortens the time for post-production.
The new version also witnessed some changes of its content as several dialogues are turned into songs, enhancing the appeal of opera.
The reason for the success of the remake opera lies in the art concept that artistic works should stem from the people and serve the people. Even though 70 years have passed, the opera never loses its charm and each reproduction injects new vitality into it.
