Music drama The Orphan of Zhao debuts in Beijing

One of China's classic tales, The Orphan of Zhao, being performed as a musical in Beijing on Sunday, Oct 14, 2018. The new production features a full cast of international actors.[Photo provided to China Plus]

'The Orphan of Zhao' is one of China's classic tales, having been adapted into films, TV shows, operas and more.

But a new production - a musical drama - is now set to feature a full cast of international actors.

CRI's Xu Fei caught up with the director of this ambitious endeavour.

Chinese theatre-director Chen Shi-zheng has long been based in New York. He came into prominence back in 1999, as his 20-hour-long Kunqu Opera "Peony Pavilion" wowed audiences at New York's Lincoln Center.

He is keen on modernizing traditional Chinese opera. The Orphan of Zhao is another innovation from the director.

"You know, when I did the Orphan of Zhao, there were translations published in 1960s and 1950s. There's no new translation. So when I did, I think the way, we would have more translations in America that different people feel interested in what we translate the Chinese classics. To me, my job is also translating this to the world audience. And my approaches are not pretending it's a very heavy drama. You know, it's easy for people to watch and it's easy to understand, but it will hit you like a tragedy because half-way through, two more people died, then you cannot laugh anymore."

The story begins with a 13th-century noble clan, slaughtered out of treachery. A humble country doctor is faced with an impossible choice to save the titular heir at the price of sacrificing his own baby's life.

The plot is complicated, but in a way that is typical of such Chinese works. These stories are often difficult for non-Chinese actors to embrace.

Chen Shi-Zheng explains:

"They don't necessarily understand the history of China. They bought books, and we watched videos and Chinese opera together. And they got very involved with an understanding of China and understanding of those characters, especially Cheng Ying. Why would a man kill his own son? It's easy to say: you can sacrifice your own life, but sacrifice a baby's life? That's very hard. I think it took us a long time to think about race, about revenge, about how he planned all these things. 20 years later that he can come, you know, take revenge for his family."

However, not everyone is happy with Chen's adaptation with modern elements infused into a classic Chinese tale.

Chen Shi-zheng's adaptation of "Farewell My Concubine" in 2012 triggered an intense debate. Early media reports had those who prefer their Peking Opera with a traditional flavor say the new production was ruining traditions, as Chen's work fused multimedia, modern dance, and large-scale Chinese music performances.

Renowned Chinese opera conductor Hu Bingxu is a firm supporter for Chen Shizheng, saying the director is looking for a new direction to revive traditional art.

"Though Peking opera was often taken abroad for show tours before, the overseas audiences have found it quite difficult to understand. The director has found a new way to interpret it to overseas audiences."

Chen says he has been working for years to let audiences see the core values of traditional art through a modern viewpoint, rather than to set his play in the traditional mold.

He also thinks his mix of old and new will be helpful to bridge over the cultural gap, enabling overseas audiences to better understand traditional opera art in China.

"You need to find a meaning of the story for contemporary audience. You need to find what's important in life today. What is modern aesthetics? How do you approach your story? It is not just something because I like it, you have to like it. There's no such a thing. One has to; you have to make it attractive and make it interesting for other people to learn."

Although musical the Orphan of Zhao was reportedly well-received overseas following its premiere in New York in 2013, it will be the first time for this production to come to China, debuting on Sunday as part of the ongoing Beijing Music Festival.

Chen said he's eager to know what domestic audiences think about this play with heavy Western aesthetics and also with western actors impersonating Chinese characters in English.

According to the organizers of the music festival, they hope to break through the barriers between East and West, and to discover new possibilities in traditional Chinese theatrical works.