CulturalFest Spotlight: Peking Opera "Duan Mi Jian"
The FIUTS CulturalFest on February 19 will feature 11 performing artists and groups who will share cultures from around the world on the Meany Hall stage at the Performance Showcase. At the International Expo, taking place the same day, numerous cultural booths at the UW HUB share over 35 different cultures through music, dance, food, conversation, and interactive activities.
Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing more about the performers and booths who will be sharing their talents at CulturalFest. Today the spotlight is on Peking Opera “Duan Mi Jian”
Meet the performers for the Peking Opera “Duan Mi Jian”. They hope to share a part of the life and history of “Beijingers” people.
“Shun and I were both Beijing natives. Shun has studied Peking Opera for nine years, and has participated in various TV programs, winning awards in national competitions. In 2011, he attended in the 40 Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Australia in Vienna's Golden Hall. He also performed monkey operas in Los Angeles.
I was first specialized in crosstalk, local operas, and lyrics called "Taiping" , which was like a combination of rap and folk music. By chance, I was very honored to meet so many teachers who were very professional in the field of Peking Opera. Our erhu is nearly 80 years old, but he always spares no effort to guide us every weekend. In the following years, I majored in the role of "Jing", and we did a lot of shows together in Seattle.
The elders in our family really influenced a lot with the traditional culture. I could remember every morning I would be woken up by my grandmom's old radio of different types of operas, while she was cooking breakfast in the kitchen at 6am. I was very upset because I couldn't understand what it was singing. It was just noise to me. Indeed, I do not expect the audience to understand how to appreciate Peking Opera, neither its singing nor its content, because it is ancient and mysterious in its own way. I only hope that such a performance form, which is very traditional in China but very new in the world, can bring some inspiration, some insight to us, and to the field of stage art.
The props we bring this time are the "horsewhip" that we are going to use in our performance. We can't ride a real horse on the stage of Peking Opera, but the movement of waving a horsewhip represents a symbol.
200 years ago, Hui, Han, Kun and Bangzi troupe came to Beijing to celebrate emperor Qianlong's birthday. Some went back after their performances, while others stayed in the capital. The cultural heritage of Peking Opera is unfathomable, as it is integrated with the life and history of “Beijingers” and people in other parts of China.”
Performers:
Singers:
Ziqiao Liu ("Jing") , Shun Liu ("Sheng")
Erhu:
Professor Wenxin Chen
Accompany:
Dailin Li (Drum). Jinghui Wang (Large Gong), Mandi Wang (Cymbal), Wanyun Zhang (Small Gong)
CULTURALFEST TICKET INFORMATION:
Interested in seeing the Peking Opera and the other talented performers? Learn more here or buy tickets below!
*To make this in-person event as safe as possible, we are working with all our partners in implementing safety measures. Proof of vaccination against COVID will be required upon entry to Meany Hall for the CulturalFest Performance Showcase. Masks will also be required upon entry.