On November 24th and 25th 2011, Viennese audiences once again had the chance to witness China’s oldest and most famous opera form, the Kunqu opera. The world-renowned Beijing Northern Kunqu Opera troupe performed two of the most famous Kunqu operas, “Lankeshan”, or “Mount Lanke” and “Dou E Yuan” at the main hall of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The event was hosted by the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO and the Confucius Institute at the University of Vienna.
The Kunqu opera was added in 2001 to the UNESCO list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. It dates back to the Yuan dynasty, making it one of the oldest Chinese operas still widely performed today. It has also greatly influenced most Chinese local operas over time, therefore also being called “mother of one hundred operas”. Kunqu opera is also one of the most complex to perform among the Chinese operas, actors need to be one with the piece and perform according to rhythm, melody and the tones of the Chinese language. The music in turn is played according to the actor’s singing, the composition of which is also dictated by strict rules. Content ranges from the comical to the dramatic, never however ceasing to be of high poetic value.
We look forward to next year’s Beijing Northern Kunqu Opera troupe’s concert!