Opera legend Turandot lives again in Beijing

cctv.com 03-17-2004 10:25

Though you might not guess it from her name, Princess Turandot is arguably the best-known theatrical Chinese figure in the Western world. Puccini made her famous with his opera, which debuted in Italy in 1926, just a few years after his death. After more than seven decades on western stages, the ice princess is staging a revival in her homeland. A bold new production by the China Peking Opera Theatre has endowed the royal beauty with a distinctive Chinese touch. On Monday night, Ma Shuo checked out the latest incarnation at the Poly Theatre.

She was portrayed as a bloodthirsty, vengeful man-hater in Puccini's classic opera. This time, still a stunning beauty, Turandot is a girl who wants to escape the confines of the imperial palace to find true love. The perennial favorite has never failed to inspire international artists, who've interpreted the story in various forms.

But this is the first attempt to dramatize this western-born Chinese story in the form of Peking Opera. And the night was dedicated to more than 300 foreign diplomats from 108 countries working in China.

It was also opening night for this year's exchange events sponsored by the Ministry of Culture. For this special group of fans, who've heard the story before, this Turandot had to be something really fresh to delight their eyes and ears.

Greek Ambassador to China Pocanas Charalambos said, "Yes, I was familiar with the story. I know it is a Chinese story sort of imagined by westerners....."

The new production contains radical innovations. Although incorporating essential elements of ballet, pop music and opera, it still preserves the original charm of Peking Opera.

Lead Actress Deng Min said, "This role reflects Chinese women's pursuit of ideals and true love. Turandot is actually not as cold and cruel as she looks. She is fired with a strong passion for life and she is very lovely."

The show premiered in Beijing last November. Since then, the stage sensation generated floods of both praise and criticism in the country. And five countries, including Poland and Romania, have invited the China Peking Opera Theatre to bring Turandot onto the international stage in the latter half of this year.

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Editor:Chen Jie  Source:CCTV.com