Hubei Peking Opera Trip in America

By Xu Kuang

邁阿密旅游董事局主席布魯斯（右）和當(dāng)?shù)刂耸縿诶w驗(yàn)京劇戲服Bruce Orosz, Chairman of GMCVB and Lauren Marks, a local celebrity in Peking Opera costumes

In recent years, the Hubei Peking Opera Academy(HPOA) has made a series of wonderful performance tours across American, British,Russian, and Japanese cities.Their excellent debuts on the international stage adds glamour to the quintessence of Chinese culture and to the Hubei local culture.

Helping the Audience Understand Peking Opera

On March 2, 2018,the art troupe organized by HPOA presented a Chinese cultural gala, the highlights of classic Zhezi Xi,1to a sell-out crowd in the Mees Auditorium of Capital University in Columbus,Ohio State. The joyous performance attracted about one thousand local audience.

Traditional Peking Opera stage may simply consist of one table and two chairs. However, the performers are likely to lash a whip to denote horse-riding and a paddle to evoke boat-sailing. Their performance and movements invite the attendees to envision the seemly parades of thousands of soldiers and horses marching before them, which leaves the audience with great room for imagination.

國(guó)家一級(jí)演員江峰為觀眾勾包拯臉譜Jiang Feng, national first-level actor, drawing the opera make-up of Bao Zheng on an American girl

攜一出出好戲走向海外，美國(guó)、英國(guó)、俄羅斯、日本……近年來(lái)，湖北京劇院頻頻赴海外交流，一次次精彩亮相國(guó)際舞臺(tái)，展示出國(guó)粹的無(wú)窮魅力，也展現(xiàn)了荊楚文化的炫麗風(fēng)采。

讓觀眾看懂京劇

當(dāng)?shù)貢r(shí)間3月2日，美國(guó)俄亥俄州哥倫布市首府大學(xué)劇場(chǎng)座無(wú)虛席，該院京劇藝術(shù)團(tuán)獻(xiàn)演中華文化大餐——經(jīng)典折子戲。晚會(huì)歡樂(lè)喜慶，近千名當(dāng)?shù)厝耸坑^看。

那一桌二椅的簡(jiǎn)單舞臺(tái)，以鞭代馬、以槳代船，演員一舉手一投足間，仿佛就有千軍萬(wàn)馬，京劇的虛擬寫(xiě)意營(yíng)造出充滿想象力的藝術(shù)空間。

有些外國(guó)觀眾對(duì)中國(guó)京劇認(rèn)識(shí)模糊，認(rèn)為京劇就是穿上中國(guó)古代服裝、化了妝的雜技，并不明白什么叫做唱、念、做、打，手、眼、身、法、步，更不明白什么叫傳統(tǒng)審美、寫(xiě)意虛擬、程式表演，等等。

如何讓外國(guó)人看懂京??？

“前期需要反復(fù)溝通?！焙笔【﹦≡焊痹洪L(zhǎng)周琥說(shuō)：“不能一上來(lái)直接表演，先要給主持人講解京劇的流派、行當(dāng)?shù)然局R(shí)，這便于主持人能夠生動(dòng)活潑地對(duì)觀眾進(jìn)行講解。而且，每一出劇目演出之前，都需要主持人講解故事背景?！?/p>

有了前期的溝通鋪墊，雖然語(yǔ)言不通、文化背景相異，但從京劇藝術(shù)獨(dú)特的唱腔、動(dòng)作、服裝中，外國(guó)觀眾能看懂表演的故事，體會(huì)到其中所蘊(yùn)含的中華文化精髓，并由衷感嘆東方藝術(shù)的魅力。

湖北京劇院為此次巡演，精心挑選經(jīng)典劇目《雙陽(yáng)公主》、《泗州城》和以三國(guó)故事改編的傳統(tǒng)劇目《戰(zhàn)馬超》、《壯別》等四幕折子戲。

“劇目選擇上，我們盡量挑選國(guó)外觀眾熟悉的中國(guó)故事，比如《壯別》，講述的是周瑜打黃蓋的故事。外國(guó)觀眾知道中國(guó)小說(shuō)《三國(guó)演義》，三國(guó)故事有很深的荊楚文化背景。”周琥介紹。

京劇虛擬、寫(xiě)意、深刻、獨(dú)到，西方歌劇側(cè)重寫(xiě)實(shí)，這是中西文化碰撞的地方。觀眾互動(dòng)也體現(xiàn)著東西方戲劇欣賞方面的差異。西方觀眾習(xí)慣于靜默欣賞歌劇，待一幕終了及演員謝幕時(shí)才報(bào)以掌聲?！熬﹦≈v究演員和觀眾從始至終、融為一體的熱烈互動(dòng)，觀眾的叫好聲會(huì)激勵(lì)演員更賣(mài)力地展現(xiàn)技藝。”周琥說(shuō)。

演出現(xiàn)場(chǎng)座無(wú)虛席（左圖）　王銘、江峰《壯別》分飾周瑜、黃蓋（右圖）Audience applauding the performance (left)　Actors Wang Ming and Jiang Feng playing Zhou Yu and Huang Gai respectively in Farewell to a Hero (right)

Local audience are fascinated by the art of Peking Opera. Some of them regard Peking Opera as nothing but a combination of beautiful traditional costumes,elaborate make-up, and lively combat scenes. And they are perplexed about some technical terms in singing, recitations,acting, and acrobatics and the synchronization of hand,eye, body, and steps, let alone the appreciation of Chinese aesthetics, of symbolic connotations, and of how to differentiate between different characters.

How could the performers help local audience understand Peking Opera?

“We need to explain again and again in the preparatory stage,”said Mr. Zhou Hu, vice president of HPOA. “The actors need to introduce various schools, roles and other basic knowledge of Peking Opera to the local host before the performance, and the host will explain to the audience in his particular way. Moreover,he will also introduce the background of each opera when it is performed.”

With timely explanation and careful preparation, local audience could finally understand the essence of the story by judging the performers’ enchanting voices, movements, and costumes despite differences in language and culture. As a result, this enriches their understandings of Chinese culture and allows them to savor the glamour of eastern art.

HPOA singled out four traditional Zhezi Xi for the performance tour, including two classic plays of Princess Shuangyang, Sizhou City, and two traditional plays of Fight with Ma Chao and Farewell to a Hero which were adapted from the novel Romance of Three Kingdoms.

“In selecting the plays, we chose Chinese stories which are famous around the world. Take Farewell to a Hero for example,it narrates how General Zhou Yu deliberately whipped Huang Gai, his fellow general, to deceive General Cao Cao’s spies, a story many local audiences know about,that happened to take place in Hubei,” said Mr. Zhou Hu.

科學(xué)與工業(yè)博物館館長(zhǎng)伯特利博士與演員楊帆合影Dr. Frederic Bertley, President and CEO of COSI, and actress Yang Fan

Peking Opera emphasizes imagination and performance,while Western opera puts weight on concrete storylines. And the mutual interaction between audiences and performers is another difference between Chinese culture and Western culture. When appreciating an opera performance, Western audiences usually watch it quietly and applaud at the end of one act or when performers bow at the end of a play. “In watching Peking Opera, performers and audiences have intimate and continuous interactions from the beginning to the end. The audience’s applause and cheers will inspire the performers to display their talents to the fullest,” said Mr. Zhou Hu.

Co-hosted bilingually by Mr.Pat McAloon, a famous MC in Columbus, and Ms. Xia Liping,the audience quickly learned how to appreciate Peking Opera and at times extended their thunderous cheers and applause, rising with the climax of the play.

At the end of the performance,all the audience were standing to indicate their respect and love to the performers. Some of them even stepped on stage to take photos with the performers,which lasted for nearly an hour.

Bringing Eastern Art into School

The day beforethe performance,the art troupe went to Columbus School for Girls, Wittenberg University and Ohio State University respectively in three groups to bring Eastern art to the campus.

演出交流合影留念　Group photo after the performance

國(guó)家二級(jí)演員于巧云在哥倫布女子學(xué)校教學(xué)生們京劇Yu Qiaoyun, national second-level actress, teaching students Peking Opera at Columbus School for Girls

Mr. Zhou knew that students in Columbus School for Girls had once performed the play, Legend of the White Snake, an English edition conducted by a Chinese teacher in the school. “Since Ms. Wang Ming played a part in the opera of The Tale of Green Snake,2I intended to arrange her to visit this school and hoped that they would have a meaningful exchange.”

The performers tended to interact with the American students in a variety of ways,such as through demonstrations,drawing and guessing the meaning of facial make-ups,allowing them to try on costumes,and teaching them steps, etc. In so doing, all faculties and students could feel the magic power of traditional Chinese art treasure.The whole auditorium was then full of laughter, enjoyment and warm feelings.

Two hours passed when all of them were still in a cheerful mood. Some students who hadn’t got the chance to experience on stage said they still wanted to have a try, while many other students said this was the first time they encounter Peking Opera and would like to learn more if possible.

In Wittenberg University,Mr. Jiang Feng, a top actor in China, drew a facial make-up of Bao Zheng3for an American girl and told her the meanings of each make-up design in details.“Foreign audiences could learn about Chinese stories through our performance. They need to understand why Guan Yu was red-faced, Bao Zheng was black-faced and Cao Cao was white faced. Because red means loyalty, black means upright and justice, and white means cunning in China. There are over one thousand facial make-ups, and you can’t make any mistake. This is a distinctive feature of Chinese traditional culture.”

Strengthening Friendship through Opera

在當(dāng)?shù)亟鹋浦鞒峙商亍溈垼≒at McAloon）和夏莉萍中英文特色主持和帶動(dòng)下，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)觀眾很快學(xué)會(huì)看京劇，每到精彩片段和唱段，都響起震耳欲聾的掌聲和叫好聲。

演出結(jié)束時(shí)，臺(tái)下觀眾全體起立向演員們致敬，以熱烈持久的掌聲表達(dá)內(nèi)心真摯的喜愛(ài)與贊嘆。一大批觀眾走上舞臺(tái)挽留喜歡的演員，與他們合影留念，持續(xù)近一個(gè)小時(shí)。

讓師生體驗(yàn)東方

此前一天中午，藝術(shù)團(tuán)一到哥倫布市，便兵分三路，分別前往該市女子學(xué)校、文博大學(xué)、俄亥俄州立大學(xué)，向師生展示東方藝術(shù)。

周琥了解到，哥倫布女子學(xué)校的學(xué)生們?cè)啪氝^(guò)話劇《白蛇傳》，話劇由該校中文老師自己改編，用英語(yǔ)演出?！巴蹉懷葸^(guò)京劇《青蛇》，我特地把王銘這一組分到女子學(xué)校演出，希望雙方有更深入的交流。”

演員們通過(guò)表演示范、勾臉譜、穿戲服、教身段、猜臉譜等形式多樣的交流活動(dòng)，讓師生們感受東方中國(guó)藝術(shù)的神秘，驚喜、激動(dòng)、快樂(lè)、溫暖，縈繞學(xué)校禮堂。

學(xué)生們熱情投入，兩個(gè)多小時(shí)不知不覺(jué)過(guò)去。由于時(shí)間有限，沒(méi)得到上臺(tái)體驗(yàn)機(jī)會(huì)的學(xué)生表示還沒(méi)看夠。許多學(xué)生表示，這是第一次接觸京劇，有機(jī)會(huì)一定會(huì)更加深入學(xué)習(xí)了解中國(guó)京劇。

文博大學(xué)演出現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，國(guó)家一級(jí)演員江峰給美國(guó)女孩勾了一個(gè)包拯的臉，并給女孩詳細(xì)講解各種臉譜的含義?！白寚?guó)外觀眾通過(guò)戲曲的表現(xiàn)形式來(lái)了解中國(guó)故事，為什么關(guān)羽是紅臉，包拯是黑臉，曹操是白臉？紅臉代表忠義，黑臉表示剛正不阿，白臉表示奸詐，上千張臉譜，一個(gè)都不能錯(cuò)，這體現(xiàn)出中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)文化的鮮明特色?！?/p>

讓?xiě)騽≡鲞M(jìn)友誼

湖北省和俄亥俄州是中美建交后第一對(duì)友好省州，迄今已39年。得知湖北省京劇藝術(shù)團(tuán)來(lái)訪, 該州州長(zhǎng)專(zhuān)門(mén)寫(xiě)來(lái)賀信，將3月2日命名為“2018湖北京劇之夜”。

州長(zhǎng)代表凱西·布拉德（Kacy Bullard）和大衛(wèi)·沃德（David Ward）到首府大學(xué)劇場(chǎng)觀看演出。凱西說(shuō)：“演出非常美妙，非常優(yōu)秀，謝謝你們。很高興有親身體驗(yàn)京劇之美的機(jī)會(huì)，希望能更多地了解友好省湖北?！?/p>

當(dāng)日開(kāi)車(chē)兩個(gè)多小時(shí)從克利夫蘭趕來(lái)的“2018俄州中國(guó)節(jié)”組委會(huì)主席湯年發(fā)，看完演出后，熱情邀請(qǐng)湖北藝術(shù)團(tuán)到克利夫蘭訪問(wèn)演出。

專(zhuān)程從辛辛拉提趕來(lái)看演出的“全美中文學(xué)校協(xié)會(huì)”名譽(yù)會(huì)長(zhǎng)廖啟紅女士說(shuō)，“這么精彩的京劇表演，我在美國(guó)是第一次看到。今天我專(zhuān)門(mén)帶小孩來(lái)觀看，讓她知道中國(guó)文化有多么好?！?/p>

一位20年前移民到當(dāng)?shù)氐挠^眾，走上臺(tái)激動(dòng)地與演員握手合影。她滿含熱淚地說(shuō)道：“我的家鄉(xiāng)是湖北，當(dāng)看到湖北省京劇院在此演出的宣傳時(shí)，非常高興。看完演出后，更是感動(dòng)不已。 離開(kāi)家鄉(xiāng)這么久，在新春佳節(jié)之際，能在異國(guó)他鄉(xiāng)以這種形式感受來(lái)自祖國(guó)的新春祝福，讓我倍感溫暖。”

京劇樂(lè)隊(duì)表演現(xiàn)場(chǎng)　The HPOA orchestra performing on stage

39 years ago,Hubei and Ohio became the first pair of sister provinces/states since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States in 1979. On hearing about the arrival of the HPOA art troupe, the Governor of Ohio wrote a letter of congratulation and named March 2 as “2018 Hubei Peking Opera Night.”

On behalf of the governor, Ms.Kacy Bullard and Mr. David Ward came to the Mees Auditorium of Capital University to watch the performance. Kacy said, “It was amazing. Awesome! Thank you. I’m very glad to have the opportunity to experience the beauty of Peking Opera. We hope to learn more about our sister province Hubei.”

Mr. Tang Nianfa, chairman of 2018 Ohio Chinese Festival Organizing Committee, drove more than two hours from Cleveland to the theater. After watching the performance, he warmly invited the troupe to perform in Cleveland.

Ms. Liao Qihong, honorary president of the Chinese School Association in the United States, also came here for the performance from Cincinnati.She said, “It’s my first time to watch such wonderful Peking Opera performances in America.I brought my daughter with me to let her know how great Chinese culture is.”

Actress Yang fan playing Shuimu (the Old Mother of the Waters) in Sizhou City楊帆《泗州城》飾水母

Actors Wang Ming playing Zhou Yu in Farewell to a Hero王銘《壯別》飾周瑜

Tang Kai playing Ma Chao in Fight with Ma Chao唐愷《戰(zhàn)馬超》飾馬超

An overseas Chinese person who immigrated to the U.S.20 years ago came on stage to shake hands with the performers excitedly and took photos with them. She said with tears, “Hubei is my hometown. I am very happy when I see the advertisement of your performance and I am deeply touched after watching it. I feel warm to receive Spring Festival blessings from my motherland in such a unique way after leaving there so many years ago.”

Notes:

1. Zhezi Xi, a one-act performance of a play that originally included multiple acts.

2. Green snake, a figure in Legend of the White Snake. Both white snake and green snake transformed into two young women. Green snake treated white snake as her sister because white snake once saved her life and decided to help white snake to find Mr. Xu Xian, a man who once saved the life of white snake.

3. Bao Zheng (999-1062), an upright government officer in Song Dynasty. He is often portrayed with a black face and a white crescent shaped birthmark on his forehead.

On the morning of March 2,2018, the art troupe was invited to be special guests in live studio of Fox 6 and received interview in the program of Good Day Columbus. They performed a classic episode of Divergence in the program and received positive feedbacks.

3月2日早上，演出團(tuán)還應(yīng)邀走進(jìn)?？怂闺娨暸_(tái)新聞6頻道(FOX 6 )直播室，接受“早安哥倫布”節(jié)目采訪，現(xiàn)場(chǎng)表演《三岔口》經(jīng)典片段，引起熱烈反響。

“優(yōu)秀文藝作品是文化自信的載體，京劇藝術(shù)也要與時(shí)俱進(jìn)，講好中國(guó)故事。我們?nèi)ツ暝瓌?chuàng)現(xiàn)代京劇《在路上》，入選2018新年戲曲晚會(huì)，取得喜人成績(jī)。在傳播中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)文化上，我們?nèi)沃氐肋h(yuǎn)?！彼囆g(shù)團(tuán)團(tuán)長(zhǎng)、湖北省文化廳外聯(lián)處調(diào)研員任俊說(shuō)。

濃墨重彩的妝容、精美繁復(fù)的衣飾、鏗鏘激昂的配樂(lè)、奇特華麗的唱腔、跌宕起伏的劇情、優(yōu)雅灑脫的表演，今天，中國(guó)京劇正以其獨(dú)特魅力在全世界收獲越來(lái)越多的“粉絲”。

湖北京劇走出去，展示國(guó)粹藝術(shù)，宣傳荊楚文化，不僅促進(jìn)東西方戲劇藝術(shù)的交流，增進(jìn)湖北與俄亥俄州之間的友誼，也彰顯出中國(guó)優(yōu)秀傳統(tǒng)文化的感染力，讓當(dāng)?shù)貎S胞備感激動(dòng)和自豪?！?/p>

觀眾與劉備扮演者沈紅合影An overseas Chinese woman took her kid to the stage and took a photo with actress Shen Hong

“Excellent art work is a medium of cultural confidence. Peking Opera also needs to go with the tide and tell good Chinese stories in an artistic way. The original modern Peking Opera On the Way made by us last year was on the list of 2018 New Year Opera Gala,which was a great achievement.But there is still a long way to go to promote traditional Chinese culture.” said Mr. Ren Jun, head of the art troupe and consultant of International Cultural Liaison Division, Hubei Provincial Department of Culture.

With colorful make-up,exquisite costumes, sonorous music, unique and beautiful singing styles, intriguing plots,and elegant performances, Peking Opera is attracting more and more fans in the world for its glamour.

The HPOA art troupe displayed on international stages the quintessence of Chinese art and promoted Hubei culture to the world, which not only facilitated the exchanges between Eastern and Western artists, strengthened bonds between Hubei and Ohio,but also showed the influence of excellent traditional Chinese culture, making Chinese people overseas feel excited and proud of the place from which they came.◆

(Translation: Li Li)