Source: CCTV.com
06-08-2007 18:42
Special Report: Cultural Heritage DayBesides the more familiar Peking Opera and Kunqu Opera, hundreds of regional operas, or small operas, have been performed throughout China for centuries. Today fewer and fewer of them are seen, even in their hometowns. But it is hoped a series of folk operas being staged in Beijing, will ensure these historic stories do not vanish for ever.
This is the "Mixed Opera" from Shanxi Province, where you can see an opera in its infancy. Without any musical accompaniment,the entire opera was sung by local farmers - some in their sixties and seventies.
And the Tiaoshen Opera from Guizhou Province perfectly represents one of the most important functions of this theatrical medium: worshipping Gods and ancestors.
Zhang Qingshan, deputy director of China Arts Study Institute, said, "Opera was the cultural underpinning for villagers when entertainment was scant in their daily life. It is an important vehicle, which can affect their emotions and sensations deep inside."
In the 1950's, close to four-hundred different types of opera were performed in China. Now, only around 200 are in existence.
Small operas, only found in one province or region, are rapidly disappearing, as the original artists are aging, and dying, without passing on their rich knowledge.
Tian Qing, deputy director of Intangible Heritages Protection Center, said, " We don't have much time left if we want to turn the tide. All efforts would go in vain if the last artist dies."
As a main victim of China's cultural modernization, folk operas have been marginalized by encroaching Western operas and even mainstream indigenous ones.
And the warning signs are being heard by those high up. Last year, 92 folk operas made the National Intangible Heritages list - giving them a chance to survive the tides of change.
Editor:Liu Fang
