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| Kunqu Salon Series 1:When Kunqu Meets the Piano |
| 2009-9 |
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All summer long, Shanghai Xintiandi’s "Live Life Large" campaign has been spreading a “joie de vivre” (joy of living) and inspiring us to live life to the fullest. The campaign continues with the Shanghai Xintiandi Kunqu Salon Series, a showcase of creative live performances by one Kunqu opera’s biggest names. But true to form, this traditional Chinese art is transformed into a uniquely modern phenomenon when performed at the leading lifestyle trendsetter that is Shanghai Xintiandi.
Each of the performances in the Shanghai Xintiandi Kunqu Salon Series will be hosted by Zhang Jun, the “Prince of Kunqu Opera,” and a special guest representing a different artistic tradition. The first performance, “When Kunqu Meets the Piano”, took place on September 26 at the prestigious Club One Xintiandi and featured the famous pianist, Sun Yingdi, the first winner in China of the Franz Liszt Piano Competition. The two renowned artists discussed similarities between their respective forms of creative expression, and created an innovative paring of Eastern Kunqu Opera and Western classical music. What happened when the lyrical poetry of Tang Xianzu, the “Chinese Shakespeare”, met the melodic genius of Claude Debussy? Zhang Jun began today’s debut performance by introducing the major milestones in the development of Kunqu Opera, which is regarded as the mother of Chinese operas. As the strings of a zither tingled the air, Zhang relayed Kunqu's 600-year history, illustrating its three phases with vocal demonstrations, and examples from Chinese literature.
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Zhang Jun then invited Sun Yingdi to share his interpretation of the Kunqu Opera from the perspective of a western-trained musician. The pianist then gave an astounding performance of Debussy's L'Apres-midi d'un Faune, and the two artists compared this work with Tang Xianzu’s Masterpiece The Peony Pavilion, finding similarities in the musical language of two composers from different eras and backgrounds. Other Kunqu performers then led the audience into a dream-like state with a hypnotic Peony Pavilion piece. Finally, Zhang Jun and Sun Yingdi delivered the day's climatic performance, a collaboration between the two artists that mixed The Tower, a Debussy masterpiece, with The Mountain Peach, a meandering, peaceful melody from The Peony Pavilion. Zhang Jun believes that as an essential part of traditional Chinese culture, the beauty of Kunqu Opera has much to offer the modern urban lifestyle. He said that to work with Shanghai Xintiandi has always been his dream, and to be able to create a delicate and elegant performance of traditional Chinese art in a place where East and West so seamlessly blend would encourage meaningful cross-cultural communication.
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Shanghai Xintiandi Kunqu Salon Series runs from October 2009 to March 2010 and features five other unique cross-cultural performances (including several in cooperation with Shanghai Xintiandi tenants) and discussions between master Kunqu performers and luminaries of the international art world. The series aims to enable people of today to better understand and enjoy the traditional Kunqu opera, engender a greater understanding and respect for Chinese culture, and to inspire an opening up of dialogue, a search for artistic beauty, and desire to live life large.
Up Next:
Shanghai Xintiandi Kunqu Salon Series 2: When Kunqu Meets Yoga on October 11th, 2009: Another cross-border program that enables you to experience the creative synergy between Zhang Jun, and the Yoga master and creator of the Yogic Arts System, Duncan Wong. Soothing Kunqu melodies will guide you to enlightenment as you reconnect with your mind, body and soul.
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