Front-Row Peeking at Peking Opera
To cap off the tour of Beijing, BOCOG treated us to a Peking Opera performance of The Marriage of the Sun and Phoenix. I was fortunate enough to join a few of my classmates in the VIP section on the floor, just a few feet from the stage, and the shrill screeching of the actors. That isn’t a dig, it is just a fact. The singing style used in the opera isn’t exactly easy on the ears, (especially if those ears are seated just steps from a ginormous speaker) but overall, the show was fantastic. Even those in our group who fell asleep twenty minutes into the performance agreed…
OK, it wasn’t a hit with everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it. The dramatic costumes and make-up were stellar, and the story easy to follow when the electronic captions flanking the stage weren’t cruising at seizure-inducing speeds. Those of us on the floor even got snacks, and who doesn’t love giant fig newtons and minced-meat-rock-candy pastries? That’s what I thought.
Check out a clip of the performance.
Your Comments
Mmm, minced-meat-rock-candy pastries. Please bring some back for me!
Reply