Huju Opera “Deng Shichang” is put on ECNU stage.
Huju Opera “Deng Shichang” staged by Shanghai Huju Opera Troupe was on in the ECNU theater on the night of May 11.
The new show tells the story of Deng Shichang (1849-1894), a Chinese military officer who lived in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
A national hero during the First Sino-Japanese War from 1894 to 1895, Deng is best known for his service in the Beiyang Fleet during the war as the captain of the protected cruiser Zhiyuan. He participated in the Battle of the Yalu River on Sept. 17, 1894 against the Imperial Japanese Navy. After the Zhiyuan was sunk in battle, he refused to be rescued and eventually drowned at sea.
The show tells the story of Deng Shichang, a national hero during the late Qing Dynasty.
The play script was written by Jiang Dongmin and Zhuang Yi. The opera was directed by renowned director Chen Xinyi and hads a strong cast including artists Zhu Jian, Li Jianhua, Ji Yanping, Ling Yuegang and Qian Sijian.
The show made stage debut in 2014, exactly 120 years after the First Sino-Japanese War. Polished through performances in two years, the play has breathed new life to this traditional art form.
The love between Deng and his wife is touching.
It presented Deng as a flesh-and-blood human being by pushing the storyline with stories of Deng and his family members and colleagues. The play devoted much length to the love between Deng and his wife, the brotherly affection between Deng and his fellow officers, and entanglements between Deng and his superiors.
With the aid of lights, a huge foam board on the stage background created visual scenes that changed as the plot proceeded forward . Indulged in a combination of Chinese and Western instruments, such as erhu, pipa, clapper, cello, violin and clarinet, the audience was brought back to Deng's era.
The play devotes much length to the brotherly affection between Deng and his fellow officers.
At the end of the play, as Deng disappeared into the heart of the sea to the accompaniment of the song “The Sea is My Hometown”, the audience rose to their feet with thunderous applause. After the show, the performers were presented with flowers from students.
Huju, or Shanghai Opera, is a variety of Chinese opera from Shanghai. It is typically sung in the Shanghainese dialect.
Huju Opera was listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006, a traditional art form that now has official recognition and protection. Like many of the other regional opera styles, Huju is in danger of disappearing.
