New center raises profile of Kunqu Opera school
Print Edition
AT 75-years-old, Kunqu Opera artist Zhang Xunpeng isn’t letting age slow her down. These days the energetic entertainer, whose career spans six decades, is dedicated to passing down this age-old art to the next generation.
Zhang lectures at the Peng School Kunqu Art Center, a newly-founded cultural center located in the Gubei Civic Center in Shanghai. Among many other classes on Chinese cultural topics, the center offers training in the Peng School of Kunqu Opera, a rapid-fire performance style developed by Zhang herself.
Originally founded as a club for Kunqu Opera enthusiasts by one of Zhang’s apprentices, Zhao Jinyu, the center boasts an eclectic membership of white-collar workers and foreign residents.
According to theater expert Mao Shi’an, the new center is a major milestone for Zhang and the style she developed.
“Based in the Gubei international community area, the center will help introduce Kunqu culture to the world,” Mao said.
Zhao, who now acts as the center’s director, says it will host regular workshops with noted performers, as well as small shows aimed at cultivating interest in Chinese opera among the city’s foreign residents.
Zhang herself studied under celebrated master Yan Huizhu. She is a winner of the Shanghai Magnolia Stage Performance Award and has been officially named as a State-Level Inheritor of China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage for Kunqu Opera.
One of Zhang’s career-crowning moments came with her collaboration with Cai Zhengren in a 1997 production of “The Peony Pavilion.” At the time, her forceful portrayal of the character Du Liniang garnered much praise, as well as a fair bit of controversy.
In keeping with the story’s Song Dynasty (960 AD-1279) setting, some critics contend that the upper-class heroine Du, should be quiet, reserved and reluctant to reveal her emotions. Zhang’s spirited performance, however, turned such expectations on their head.
Zhang had her own interpretation of the character, a 16-year-old girl who falls asleep in her family’s garden and has a vivid dream about falling in love with a handsome young scholar.
“Girls at Du’s age in the play are fascinating and charming,” she explains. “The play pays tribute to youth, free love and vibrant life.”
As she developed the elaborate gestures and fleet footwork that characterized her performance, and later the Peng School, Zhang made a careful study of basketball and table tennis players, as well as ballet dancers. Fortunately for her, she didn’t have to look too far for inspiration.
Zhang’s husband is Cai Guoqiang, a famed Chinese basketball player. Their son is the ballet dancer Cai Yilei. She often talked with them as she crafted her trademark techniques.
Much of her focus now is on nurturing young performers. Many of her students at the Shanghai Traditional Opera School, where she previously taught, are now elite members in some of the country’s leading Kunqu Opera troupes. Traces of her style and influence can now be seen in regional opera styles, such as Yueju Opera and Huaiju Opera.
In the future, Zhang hopes to write a book about her experience on stage.
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