The special performance of 2023 Classical Nanxi Culture Week (Shanghai Station) on Aug 9. [Photo/WeChat account: wenzhoufabu]
The special performance of 2023 Classical Nanxi Culture Week (Shanghai Station) was staged at the Wanping Theatre in Shanghai on the evening of Aug 9.
Artists and actors from Shanghai and Wenzhou, a city in East China's Zhejiang province and the origin of Nanxi, or literally "southern drama", was staged, igniting a fervor for the artform and treating the residents of Shanghai with a cultural feast showcasing Wenzhou's unique opera heritage.
Nanxi emerged in the area around Wenzhou during the Song dynasty (960–1279). It is one of the first fully-developed forms of Chinese drama.
The event, organized by the Wenzhou municipal government, Shanghai Opera Arts Center, and Shanghai Theater Association, aims to strengthen the cultural and artistic interaction and cooperation between the two cities by showcasing outstanding literary and artistic works and achievements in talent development. It also seeks to promote the Chinese traditional culture origin tracing project and to guide theater workers in their creative transformation and innovative development.
The evening began with a performance of A Dream of a Thousand Years, which combines various art forms such as Ouju opera, Yueju opera, Kunqu opera, Wenzhou drumming and storytelling opera, and Wenzhou folk songs, allowing audiences to experience the rich local characteristics and long-standing historical culture of Wenzhou.
Next, organizers will put Nanxi on the stages of Beijing, cities of the Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and Macao, and present the stories of Wenzhou and Chinese culture to the world.
