Zhejiang Troupe Stages Peking Opera Gala in Dubai

Xu Jihong

Zhejiang Peking Opera Troupe staged a gala at Global Village， a theme park in Dubai， from February 14 to 15， 2018. The troupe gave three performances during the two days at the park. The gala show was especially designed for international audiences in celebration of the 2019 Spring Festival which fell on February 5 this year. Since 2008， the troupe has visited Dubai five times.

The spectacular show presented the best of Peking Opera and traditional Chinese culture. The opening part of the show was a variety of festive Chinese dances such as the dragon dance， the lion dance， the arhat dance， the lotus lantern dance， and the sword dance. There was a performance of Peking Opera music， presenting a two-stringed musical instrument designed exclusively for Peking Opera. There were arias from well known Peking opera plays. And there was a Kung-fu show titled “Real and Fake Monkey Kings”. Singing and kung-fu are two major essences of Peking Opera， whose ancestral roots can be traced back to many centuries ago.

演出劇照。A Peking Opera show in Dubai by Zhejiang Peking Opera Troupe

The show， more than one hour long， attracted local visitors to the theme park， which is a large amusement compound with pavilions featuring more than 30 countries in the world. The park provides a great variety of entertainment and recreational events. Visitors to the park can taste exotic food， enjoy shows of music， dance， acrobatics and theater， and buy souvenirs and traditional decorative garments from all over the world. Global Village attracts the largest numbers of visitors from December to February， the best three months for sightseeing in Dubai. It is said that the park receives more than 100，000 people per day during this three-month period.

Weng Guosheng， president of Zhejiang Peking Opera Troupe， likes the theater stage at Global Village. A veteran Peking Opera artist， Weng is deeply impressed with the hardware of the stage. “It is more than 20 meters wide and 20 meters deep to the back stage. It is also equipped with a computerized LED screen as the background and a cutting-edge acoustic system. The stage is stylishly suitable for us to demonstrate the magnificence of Peking Opera，” recalls Weng.

The troupe sent its best artists to Dubai and many artists doubled in many roles. A musician， a makeup artist， and a costume artist dressed up as fairies and appeared in the lotus lantern dance. The kungfu artists appeared in the dragon dance and the lion dance and then appeared in  again. Li Zhuoli， the lighting technician， single-handedly controlled all the equipment for music， video， lighting and acoustics， assisted by employees of the theme park.

“Such versatile teamwork is a must for the troupe on its overseas tours，” says Zhang Ling， a vice director of the troupe in charge of performances. “In fact， the versatile teamwork and a sense of honor for the country are the very secrets of the success of the troupes international tours，” concludes Zhang. The troupe has visited many countries across the world and the shows it has staged overseas makes Peking Opera a huge feature of China.