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Huangmei Opera, formed in the 18th century in central China's Hubei Province, was originally a combination of local folk songs, dances and some wide spread ancient operas. It didn't fully mature until it was brought to Anqing, in east China's Anhui Province, in the early 20th century. Right after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the opera saw its first golden era with rapid development, soon boasting a repertoire of about 100 pieces, and many outstanding performing artists appeared, like Yan Fengying, Wang Shaofang and Pan Jingli. In the 1980s, the opera saw its second flourishing in the wake of the Cultural Revolution, and again with the advent of many new performers and repertoires. However, such prosperity lasted for only about ten years and Huangmei Opera declined again in the 1990s. In recent years Huangmei Opera performers are trying to bring another golden era to their art form. Here's Shen Ting with the story.  Forty-four year old Zhang Weiqi is a taxi driver in Beijing, and a follower of traditional opera. Huangmei Opera is one of his favorites.
"I like Huangmei Opera, especially some of its traditional arias. I think they contain a flavor that can't be found in anything modern." Zhang Weiqi says although there are many new forms of entertainment for him to choose from, he is still fond of listening to Huangmei Opera. However, in sharp contrast to Zhang Weiqi, 27-year-old Zhao Weiming, who works in a telecoms company, shows no interest in Huangmei Opera at all. "I don't like its melody and slow tempo. What's more, today we have very rich sources of music, like pop, rock or jazz. So I seldom listen to it." But he does admit that he would be interested in taking a look at Huangmei Opera if it made some changes or experiments to its melody or performance. Zhao Weiming's opinion is the one most representative of a large portion of the youngsters in China today. Although Huangmei Opera enjoys wide popularity among middle-aged and older people in China, the younger audience is still important to the development and promotion of this traditional opera. That's why the artists and performers of Huangmei Opera never stop in their attempts to bring it more in step with the times. Compared with many other Chinese local operas, Huangmei Opera has been rather successful at this. Jiang Jianguo, Director of Anhui Huangmei Opera Theatre, explains.  Being relatively young, Huangmei Opera has fewer regulations or limitations compared to other local operas. So we have more space to carry out creative experiments. The director adds that the development of traditional opera should keep step with the times. He thinks some people engaged in the creation or performance of Huangmei Opera miss the point, by either trying to seek a high artistic level or to meet low brow demands. In his opinion, the best choice is to strike a balance between the two, so as to attract the largest possible audience. "We should step out of the old, traditional mode, to develop and promote local opera. In today's commercial society, it should also be regarded as a product that needs marketing and design." It is a fact that the first two periods in which Huangmei opera thrived, the 1950's and the 1980's, both saw the creation of new repertoires and the emergence of new performers. Four years ago, a new Huangmei Opera play, named Huizhou Woman, announced the coming of a new upsurge. Thanks to excellent performances and a delicate backdrop design and lighting effects, the play won great plaudits from both audience and critics alike, since its premier in Auhui Province. Moreover, it has been invited twice to Beijing and once to Shanghai, and has now been performed more than 100 times around the country. The success of Huizhou Woman is a great encouragement for Huangmei performers and artists. Now, another new play entitled The Ode of Endless Hatred is becoming a hot topic for Huangmei Opera lovers. Adapted from a musical, this stage play tries to exploit the strong points of the opera to the most—that is its popular melody and graceful dance. As a matter of fact, some critics have nicknamed Huangmei Opera "Chinese Folk Musical". The Ode of Endless Hatred aims just to take some leads from the musical, and at the same time, express the original flavor of the traditional opera. Li Wen, a performer with Auhui Huangmei Opera Theatre, is the female lead in the performance, cast in the role of Yang Yuhuan, concubine of the Tang Dynasty emperor Xuanzong. "The character of Yang Yuhuan I play in this performance is different from those of other local operas, such as Peking Opera, Kunqu Opera or Qinqiang Opera. I think in this play she's more vivid, because we try to display the character from various angles, and the audience can see much more of her personality." Now The Ode of Endless Hatred has brought with it an up swell of Huangmei Opera, marking public approval for these experiments. Director Jiang again. "We should not only focus on training performers, but also directors, playwrights, stage artists, make-up, and so on. We're doing all this now. But I think we need to put more effort into it so as to make the most of these developing After listening to Shenting's report, I am more confident about the future of this traditional local opera. Here is another piece of good news: the 3rd Anqing Huangmei Opera Art Festival has just been kicked off in Anqing City, the opera's spiritual home. During the art festival, a series of new repertoires of Huangmei Opera are to be staged, including The Ode of Endless Hatred. It will no doubt be a great event for lovers of this local opera, as well as a good opportunity to introduce Huangmei Opera to yet more people.
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