HWA SHENG CHINESE OPERA CLUB

Women in Times of War, presented by Hwa Sheng Chinese Opera Club in Seattle, will showcase two popular stories from the rich repertory of Beijing Opera, the best known of traditional Chinese performing arts in the West, on Sunday, August 11, 2019, at 2 pm, at the Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue.  

 

Drawing upon legends, folk stories and historical events, Beijing opera is exquisitely stylized, with elaborate costumes, fantastic makeup and a complex system of aesthetic conventions governing every aspect of the performance. Devoid of realism, characters are defined by role types who tell stories and express emotions through gestures and movements which are nothing short of choreographed dance.  Vocal deliveries consist of singing and musicalized speeches supported by a small orchestra which not only underscores the emotions of individual characters but also controls the tempo and atmosphere of the entire theatrical world. Hwa Sheng Chinese Opera Club, combining local talents and professional artists, has been practicing and performing Chinese Opera in Seattle area for more than fifty years. 

 

In this production, two stories will provide a spectrum of Chinese theatrical aesthetics while distinctly focused on women’s roles and emotions in China’s long and often blood-bathed ancient history. “On the Hillside,” a story about the testing of a wife by her disguised husband who just returned from a long and victorious military campaign, shows how traditional Chinese marriage regards female chastity as its primary value. The second story, “The Woman Spy,” exemplifies female loyalty and chastity in a totally different way. In this case, a woman with her sexual power is employed as an effective political weapon. The woman spy, Xishi, served, and corrupted, the enemy king to help her home country to defeat him. These two women’s stories offer two contrasting images of women’s existence in China’s war-torn past.

 

Although grown out of clamorous traditional teahouses, Chinese Opera is now comfortably presented on the Westernized stage with sophisticated sound control and theatrical lighting.  The auditorium of Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue will easily transport you to the ancient world of Chinese culture, with subtitles of English translations of the dialogues and sung lyrics projected on stage to facilitate understanding and appreciation.