Different Traditions, One World
--1st Yue Opera Town Theatre Festival & Cultural and Art Exhibition of Countries along the Belt and Road is going to be held
From October 1 to 7, 2019, the 1st Yue Opera Town Theatre Festival & Cultural and Art Exhibition of Countries along the Belt and Road, themed Different Traditions, One World, is going to be held in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and in an effort to facilitate the implementation of the Belt and Road development strategy.
Purpose of holding the 1st Theatre Festival is to stay committed to local culture and give play to the role of people’s initiative. Pu Opera from Shanxi Province, Gui Opera from Guangxi Province, Gaojia Opera from Fujian Province and Wu Opera from Zhejiang Province will be showcased, spanning from coastal region in the southeast to the plains in the central region and exhibiting the charm of Ou River and the exotica in the border areas. Reach of these four opera forms covers almost half of China. They will be represented by opera highlights including Hanging Paintings, Hitting Stick out of a Case, Going to Riding a Donkey to Visit the Son-in-law’s Family and Broken Bridge. Yue Opera Town Art Troupe will perform classic scenes from famous operas such as Romance of the Western Chamber, Dream of the Red Mansion, Butterfly Lovers and the Peacock Flies Southeast. Moreover, “vegetable and fruit” animation and flash mob activities adapted from the opera Butterfly Lovers will be on display. Local private troupes will perform on the stage outdoors along the banks of the Shanxi River. Opera fans can have a unique experience of dressing as performers in the Opera Fans Pavilion. Since its trial run at the beginning of this year, Yue Opera Town has been moving towards reaching the goal of making opera part of everyday life and festival celebrations once again.
Pu Opera Hanging PaintingsThrough the ancient Silk Road dating back to 200 years, civilizations in the east and west encountered and interacted; through the Belt and Road inaugurated in 2013, shared economic and cultural prosperity will be promoted in modern world. It is Yue Opera Town’s vision to showcase culture and art from across countries with ancient civilizations in a sustained manner. In June this year, Mr. Guo Xiaonan, President of International Theatre Town Alliance and Professor Shen Lin, Academic Advisor, paid a visit to Tbilisi, Capital of Georgia to experience culture, art and opera performances. In August this year, they visited Georgia again as well as Armenia, reaching cooperation consensus with their partners during the National Day holiday. As a result, exhibitions of motion pictures and photos by director Sergey Parajanov will be on display in China. Classics such as The Color of Pomegranate, Ashik-Kerib and The Legend of Suram Fortress by Sergey Parajanov will be shown. Photo Exhibition “THE WORLD OF SERGEY PARAJANOV – ART WITHOUT THE BORDERS” will be held for the first time in China, which will present viewers with 40 photos of the director’s portraits and himself at work, stills and collages. Ararat from Armenia and Bagrat
Dance Troupe from Georgia will perform in Yue Opera Town, offering audience the opportunity to experience the charm of traditional Armenian music and Georgian dance. Visitors’ hall will be used as exhibition hall to showcase hand-woven Armenian carpet, Georgian wall hangings created on silk and Georgian wine.
Georgia and Armenia are located in the westernmost part of Asia and at the crossroads in the Eurasian continent. Their exchanges with China date back to centuries. Carpets, silk and wine are evidence of communication and interplay of different civilizations. Music and dance characteristic of different peoples have the potential to resonate among different peoples without languages as the medium. Needless to say, classical works by director Sergey Parajanov will surely cause a sensation among his fans in China.
Special thanks go to Levan Khetaguri and Artur Ghukasyan, two council members of the International Theatre Town Alliance, as well as Professor Yuri, Vice President, Art Research Institute of Georgia, whose support helps to make a good start of the Cultural and Art Exhibition of Countries along the Belt and Road.
Photo Exhibition “THE WORLD OF SERGEY PARAJANOV – ART WITHOUT THE BORDERS”
Bagrat Dance Troupe from Georgia
Ararat from Armenia
RIONI DI CORI from Italy, Folk Trio from the Aegean Sea of Greece and folk singing and dance from the Banat region in Romania will also appear in Yue Opera Town, making the town a more colorful place in autumn.
Mr. Guo Xiaonan, renowned director and President of Shengzhou Yue Opera Town Culture & Tour Co., Ltd. has said at the International Theatre Alliance Forum that the key to integration is exhibiting differences and the key to development is carrying forward traditions. Integration and differences, and development and traditions, though seemingly paradoxical, together give birth to the most dynamic and the liveliest cultural and art landscape. Different Traditions, One World. Take firm roots in traditions and look beyond. Yue Opera Town is thus both traditional and global in this sense.
