Kunqu Opera wins global award

Ceremony in Scottish capital recognizes art form's unique appeal, Chen Nan reports.

Kunqu Opera, one of the oldest traditional Chinese art forms, with a history dating back about 600 years, has been recognized by the 2022 Global Art Promotion Award.

Established by the Asian Art Fund Scotland and endorsed by the City of Edinburgh Council and Asian Arts Award, the Global Art Promotion Award is set to celebrate the best new efforts to highlight classic theater arts from different cultures and countries.

The presentation of the 2022 Global Art Promotion Award took place on Oct 26 at the City Chambers of the City of Edinburgh Council.

Yang Fengyi, artistic director and head of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater, was awarded in recognition of the innovative ways in which she and her company promoted the traditional Chinese art form of Kunqu Opera on a global basis. Yang did not receive the award in person, but she nominated her friend, Zhang Jianan, to accept it on her behalf.

The theater company in Beijing, which was founded in 1957, is the only professional platform in northern China dedicated to Kunqu Opera.

"Thanks for having this award dedicated to Kunqu Opera and the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater," wrote Yang in her letter to the Asian Art Fund Scotland, in which she proposed that Zhang would receive the award presented by Adam McVey, the leader of the City of Edinburgh Council. "Due to the coronavirus pandemic, I couldn't make it to the ceremony held in Edinburgh."

Asian Art Fund Scotland is a charitable incorporated organization supporting Asian artists and art forms in Scotland, working to create connections between Scottish and Asian artists, organizations and their audiences.

Besides Yang, Akiko Yanagisawa, founder and artistic director of Mu: Arts, was awarded for her efforts of maintaining Noh, a form of traditional Japanese theater, while reviving it in collaboration with Noh performers and British artists.

"For international audiences, Kunqu Opera is still very new," says Chris Wang, chairman of Asian Arts Award, which was founded in 2014 to promote Asian art forms at the Edinburgh Fest ival Fringe. "Though they might have watched some performances staged by Chinese Kunqu Opera artists, there is more to offer to them about this great ancient art form."

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe began in 1947 and is now one of the biggest arts festivals in the world. It runs every August for three weeks in Edinburgh.

"We plan to have a series of events exploring and showcasing Kunqu Opera during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024. The series of events will be named 'Kunqu Opera Rediscovered'," says Wang. Additionally, Kunqu Opera classes will be held in Edinburgh.

Last year, Wang visited Yang and the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater in Beijing. They discussed bringing Kunqu Opera to more audiences worldwide. Besides performing classical masterpieces of Kunqu Opera, the company will also encourage its top artists to work with local artists in Edinburgh, giving the ancient art form a contemporary twist.

In August, the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater and Asian Art Fund Scotland signed a strategic cultural promotion agreement. The ceremony was held at the 310-year-old Zhengyici Theater in Beijing. It was a significant cooperation between Beijing and Edinburgh, marking Kunqu Opera's first long-term participation in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

"We've invited theater experts from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to watch online shows performed by artists of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater. With the elaboration of Kunqu Opera artists, they gained a better understanding of the beautiful, old Chinese art form," says Wang.

Yang says: "When we performed abroad, audiences were intrigued by Kunqu Opera. We offered them guidance before each performance, which helped them to understand the story and appreciate the beauty of the opera."

In 2001, when Kunqu Opera was listed as one of the masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO (in 2008, the world body inscribed it on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity), Yang and her company traveled to the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

After wrapping up their performances, one of the Kunqu Opera actresses, Wei Chunrong, received a note from an audience member, telling her how beautiful she was onstage and how beautiful Kunqu Opera was.

Yang says her company has been trying to seek creative ways to promote the opera, such as using social media platforms.

Kunqu Opera, which originated in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, is performed in the melodic Suzhou dialect, which combines singing, dancing and acting.

Like many traditional Chinese art forms, Kunqu Opera is passed down from one generation to another through singing demonstrations. It takes years to master basic skills, only after which performers can try to build their own styles.

Wang notes that there were some critical moments for the revival of Kunqu Opera. One was the year of 2001 when UNESCO recognized the old art form. The other is the huge popularity of a new version of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) classic, The Peony Pavilion, adapted by Chinese American writer Pai Hsien-yung.

"We hope that the Beijing-Edinburgh strategic cultural promotion agreement and the appearances of Kunqu Opera artists at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will be a new milestone for the development of Kunqu Opera," says Wang.