16 | Friday, March 5, 2021 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY LIFE SHANGHAI Museum kicks off its first exhibition of 2021 By ZHANG KUN in Shanghai A new exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai has brought together eight veteran art- ists to present a dynamic visual dia- logue on diverse subjects of culture, science and the colorful world inside peoples’ minds. Where the Twilight Comes is the first exhibition MoCA Shanghai is holding in 2021. “Like many people, we were won- dering how we could tell a story about last year and articulate the thoughts in our minds these days. We are hoping to explore those com- The new production, Mei Lanfang, which combines Kunqu and Peking operas, will make its Shanghai debut at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center as one of the 14 productions plex feelings, strange but familiar, featured in the annual performance series of Chinese operas. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY with our artists through unconven- tional ways,” says Miriam Sun, director of the museum. “We have invited eight artists from home and abroad to join the conversation, which includes paint- ings, sculptures, biotechnology, vid- REMASTERING A MAESTRO eos, photographs, installations and graffiti.” Stepping into the museum, visi- A new biopic of opera legend Mei Lanfang will debut at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, tors will first encounter Li Lei’s Zhang Kun reports. installation, Ode to Mercy. Consist- ing of 300 ceramic mugs hanging new theater production tells of the youthful period of is akin to betraying the aesthetics from the ceiling with colorful rib- will combine two forms Peking Opera master Mei Lan- and expression of Kunqu, a folk bons, the work “symbolizes all the of traditional Chinese fang (1894-1961), arguably the opera that is sometimes consid- aspirations and hopes of people”, opera to present the life most legendary Peking Opera ered the “ancestor” of Peking says the artist. An abstract painter, Li storyA of Peking Opera master Mei artist, who is renowned for his Opera. used to be the director of the China Lanfang. portrayals of young female char- However, the 36-year-old Art Museum in Shanghai. The first modern story produc- acters. believes that Kunqu will need to A few years ago, Li was invited by tion by the Kunqu Opera Theater On April 21, the new production tell modern stories to contempo- a friend to adapt his paintings on of Jiangsu Province, Mei Lanfang will make its Shanghai debut at the rary audiences if it is to survive ceramic, and he instantly fell in love Shanghai Oriental Arts Center as today. with the material. “Ceramic, which one of the 14 productions featured “The classical repertoire was has great prominence in the Chi- in the annual performance series of built throughout the past centuries. nese culture, has developed a Chinese operas. We are trying to add our contempo- unique system of vocabulary, tech- Shi Xiaming, director of the rary contributions to the portfolio,” niques and aesthetics,” he says. Kunqu Opera Theater of Jiangsu says Shi. For the past few years, Li has been Province and the lead actor in the Since debuting the Kunqu ver- exploring new possibilities with upcoming Mei Lanfang opera, sion of Mei Lanfang in 2019, the ceramic, trying to create works that held a dialogue at Shang- Kunqu Opera Theater of Jiangsu “address today’s issues in contem- hai Oriental Art Center Province has kicked off several new porary life and speak to today’s with Shanghai-based Left and above: Shi Xiaming, director of the Kunqu Opera Theater projects that tell modern stories, audiences ”. Peking Opera artist Fu of Jiangsu Province, plays the lead role in the new theater production such as a Kunqu production adapt- Xiru on Feb 28. that portrays the life story of Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang. ed from stories that emerged dur- Shi served as the deputy PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY ing the COVID-19 breakout in director of the theater Wuhan, Hubei province, and a play company before being pro- inspired by the life story of the ear- moted to director earlier ed episodes where he sang and appreciated in a small and intimate ly Communist leader and literary this year. danced as beautiful women. theater space. “In Kunqu, the translator, Qu Qiubai. “The administrative In order to present a “play with- expressions of the eyes and the sub- The decision to present Mei’s work has very much dis- in the play”, Shi had to present a tle movements of the limbs are as story in Kunqu, however, was the tracted from my dedica- celebrated sword dance in one of important as the singing itself,” Shi idea of playwright Luo Zhou, who tion to opera art Mei’s repertoires, Farewell My says. has been collaborating with the creation,” he tells China Concubine. To prepare for this, Shi Modern theaters, which are often Kunqu Opera Theater of Jiangsu Daily. “But it also gave sought the help of a Peking Opera large enough to host more than Province for years. Luo was appar- me the opportunity to be artist who hails from the same 1,000 people, have been a challenge ently so impressed by one of Shi’s involved in the decision- opera school as Mei. for Kunqu performers as those seat- informal performances that she making process.” Dating back 600 years, Kunqu is ed on the upper levels can hardly decided to let him adapt her script During the event, the one of the earliest folk operas in experience the performance prop- of Mei Lanfang, which was origi- A bronze sculpture of a bird by artists shared their expe- China. In contrast, Peking Opera, erly, he adds. nally prepared for Peking Opera Yan Zhilong is among the works on riences of por- often known as the “national opera While modern stage technology theater. show at Museum of Contemporary traying the of China”, is about 200 years old. has helped improve the experience, Over the past few years, Shi has Art Shanghai. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY legendary While different kinds of traditional the beauty of Kunqu can only be played leading roles in several new artist and Chinese opera share common prac- truly appreciated in an intimate Kunqu Opera productions written the obsta- tices, such as female characters setting. by Luo, such as the widely If you go cles they portrayed by male actors, each type Shi says that audiences are still acclaimed production by Shanghai encountered in their efforts features distinctive performance not ready to see Kunqu Opera Grand Theater Six Records of a 10 am-6 pm, Monday-Sunday, to promote opera to new audi- techniques and styles. performers dressed in modern Floating Life. through April 30. Museum of ences. Kunqu Opera is considered one costumes, be it Western suits or Contemporary Art Shanghai, Both opera singers had to per- of the most refined of traditional even modern cheongsams. Don- Contact the writer at People’s Park Gate 7, No 231 form some of Mei’s most celebrat- folk opera forms in China. It is best ning such costumes, he explains, [email protected] Nanjing Road West, Huangpu district. “It’s an exhibition of the spring- Red-themed performances show colorful allure time, and the curatorial team hoped to feature the exuberance By ZHANG KUN PATH TO Sichuan province, and tells the story and vitality of nature in the exhibi- Path to glory of Jiang Zhujun and her experiences tion,” says Yan Zhilong, an artist Twelve theater shows featuring GLORY on the eve of China’s liberation. and professor with Shanghai Thea- the Chinese revolution will be pre- Through the past decades, the ter Academy. sented from February to April in cel- Shanghai Opera House has faithfully Yan’s artworks, which include ebration of the centennial of the Long March Series. polished the production and updat- more than 10 oil paintings and founding of the Communist Party of The modern repertoire docu- ed the stage design. The first actor to bronze sculptures featuring birds, China. ments the glorious history of the perform the title character was Wan are being showcased on the second Hosted by the organizing commit- development of the Communist Par- Fuxiang, a versatile artist of Chinese floor of the museum. tee of the China Shanghai Interna- ty of China and represents the suc- folk opera. Before her death in 1994, “Birds are one of the first totems tional Arts Festival, the red-themed cess of modern Chinese music Wan used to coach young singers in of China, dating back to the primi- performance-art series features folk creation, says Shanghai Symphony performing the role of Jiang Jie, Xu tive period of Chinese civilization,” operas, ballets, symphonies and oth- Orchestra director Zhou Ping. says. Leading the upcoming per- he says. “In ancient China, people er classical-music productions. The Shanghai Symphony Hall has formances at Shanghai Grand Thea- believed birds, or the phoenix in The performances kicked off on adorned its lobby with decorations ter on April 3-4 will be the sixth particular, could carry the souls of Feb 27 with a concert by the Shang- for the occasion and put up an inter- generation of Jiang Jie performers, the dead to heaven. That’s why we hai Symphony Orchestra at its home active exhibition of Red Classic he says. see so many bird images in ancient concert hall. Music. The SSO this year commis- A concert by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra featuring conductor A popular subject in modern Chi- Chinese tombs.” The orchestra played a series of sioned four new symphony pieces Huang Yi and mezzo-soprano Lei Ming opens the red-themed nese theater art, the story of Jiang Jie The exhibition also features video musical pieces that households in from four artists to “present the new performance-art series in Shanghai on Feb 27.