Shanghai Opera House (; Shanghainese: ''Zånhae Kujihyoe'') is the official government-funded western-style

opera company Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

, China, and the resident opera company at the new

Shanghai Grand Theatre The Shanghai Grand Theater () is a complex located at the intersection of Central Boulevard and Huangpi Road South in the northern part of the People's Square in the Huangpu District of Shanghai. The building houses the Shanghai Opera House ...

(上海大剧院 ''Shanghai Da Juyuan''). Although the term "Opera House" is often applied to the building, both in English and Chinese texts, officially the building is not an opera house and the term "Shanghai Opera House" properly applies only to the performing company, not the building, as is also true for its senior sister company, the China National Opera House (CNOH) in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. The reason for the distinction is found in that the Chinese character ''Yuan'' (院) applies primarily to a school or institute or dramatic troupe rather than the building in which a school, institute or dramatic company resides. The offices, practice rooms and small rehearsal theatre are located at No.10 100- lòng Changshu Road,

Jing'an District Jing'an District () is one of the central districts of Shanghai. In 2014, it had 1,180,000 inhabitants in an area of . The district borders the Hongkou District to the east, Huangpu District to the east and south, Putuo District to the west, ...

, Shanghai.

Repertoire

The repertoire of the opera company includes various western works: ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

, L'Elisir d'Amore, Orfeo ed Euridice, Eugene Onegin (opera), Otello,

Pelléas et Mélisande (opera) ''Pelléas et Mélisande'' (''Pelléas and Mélisande'') is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's symbolist play of the same name. It premiered at the Salle Favart in Pari ...

The Nose (opera) ''The Nose'', Op. 15, (russian: Нос, translit=Nos, links=noThe title in Russian (, Nos) is the reverse of the Russian word for "dream" ( Son).), is Dmitri Shostakovich's first opera, a satirical work completed in 1928 based on Nikolai Gogol's ...

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

, Les Pêcheurs de Perles,

Samson et Dalila ''Samson and Delilah'' (french: Samson et Dalila, links=no), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater ( ...

, La Traviata, I Pagliacci, L'amour des Trois Oranges.'' Its repertoire of

Chinese-language western-style opera Chinese contemporary classical opera (Chinese: 当今古典歌剧; ''dāngjīn gŭdiăn gējù''; "contemporary classical opera") is a musical art form drawing on western opera traditions - distinct from modern developments of traditional Chinese ...

s (''dangdai geju'') includes: ''

White-Haired Girl ''The White-Haired Girl'' () is a Chinese opera, ballet, (later adapted to Beijing Opera and a film) by Yan Jinxuan to a Chinese libretto by He Jingzhi and Ding Yi. The folklore of the white-haired girl is believed to have spread widely in the ...

'', ''

Zan Yuen ''Zan Yuen'' (《苍原》''cāngyuán'' "boundless grasslands") is a 1995 Chinese-language western-style opera (中国当代歌剧). The plot concerns a Mongolian tribe returning from Siberia to China during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor in th ...

'' ("broad grasslands"), ''

Fangcaoxin ''Fangcaoxin'' (芳草心 "Fangfang, heart of grass") is a 1983 Chinese-language western-style opera or musical, and 1986 film. It was filmed as ''Fangcaoxin'' in 1986, and appears listed in some sources by an English title "The Passion and the L ...

'' ("Fangfang, heart of grass"), ''

Red Guards on Honghu Lake ''Red Guards on Honghu Lake'' (Chinese: 洪湖赤卫队) is a Chinese modern opera in six acts. It was first performed in October 1956 in Wuhan, Hubei by the Hubei Experimental Theater Society (湖北省实验歌剧团). It is set in Honghu, Hube ...

'', '' Sister Jiang'', ''Leiyu'' (based on Cao Yu's play ''

Thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

''), ''Shangshi'' ("Mourning" 1981 folk opera based on a story by

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. ...

) and '' The Savage Land''.Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture – Page 420 Edward L. Davis – 2012 "Jin Xiang's style is characterized by a particular sensibility for musical colouring. His opera The Savage Land (Yuanye, 1987) features a Chinese-style verismo, reminiscent of Russian opera but at the same time permuted by distinctly Chinese ..."

References

{{authority control Year of establishment missing Culture in Shanghai Tourist attractions in Shanghai Chinese opera companies Organizations based in Shanghai

Repertoire

See also

References