Peking Opera Dubbed in EnglishThe commercial debut of the Peking Opera performance "Legend of White Snake" was staged Saturday night at the opera house of the Beijing Drama School.The opera is simultaneously interpreted into English through earphones every Wednesday and Saturday night at the opera house. Onetone Culture Exchange Co., producer of the opera, put on a trial performance in April, which was warmly received. "Many people in the foreign audience told us that through the simultaneous interpretation, they could follow a Peking Opera for the first time, said Cui Xiangrong, manager of the company, which is the first in China registered to promote English-dubbed Peking operas. Cui said that "Legend of White Snake" fully demonstrates all the expressions of artistry used in Peking opera. The original scenario, written by renowned Chinese playwright Tian Han, is considered of high literary value. Some people who watched tonight's performance complained that the price of 600 yuan per ticket for the English-dubbed opera was much higher than that for ordinary performances. "Besides numerous foreigners living in Beijing, some two million overseas tourists visit the city every year, and my market research suggests that many of them would like to go to opera houses as part of their tours or are interested in Peking opera. This kind of dubbed performance is sure to become more popular," he said. The performance has already aroused the interest of CNN, which is expected to broadcast a special report on the cultural event, sources said, adding that a British cultural company has also shown interest in co-operating with Onetone to put the dubbed opera on stage in the U.K. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |