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 opera Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...

. One of the first western-style operas was '' The White Haired Girl'' (1940). Chinese-language western-style opera is to be distinguished the Revolutionary operas of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

such as '' Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy'' which were mainly an adaption of

Peking opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

with

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

text and subjects, with some influence from

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

musical theatre. The 1950s-70s saw several patriotic socialist operas, such as '' Red Guards on Honghu Lake'' (1956). Modern operas with a continuation of "realist" socialist elements include '' A Village Teacher'' (2009). China has several separate ''geju'' companies under the Ministry of Culture, parallel with the traditional Chinese opera companies. The most prestigious are the Beijing-based central ''geju-yuan'' China National Opera House troupe (CNOH), and the Shanghai-based

Shanghai Opera House Shanghai Opera House (; Shanghainese: ''Zånhae Kujihyoe'') is the official government-funded western-style opera company of Shanghai, China, and the resident opera company at the new Shanghai Grand Theatre (上海大剧院 ''Shanghai Da Juyua ...

company. In each case the term "Opera House," ''geju-yuan'', refers to the institute or company, not to a fixed building or theatre. The street addresses of both companies are merely administrative offices and rehearsal rooms. Other notable geju companies around China include the Liaoning geju yuan, based in Shenyang and others. The status of ''geju'' has been boosted by availability of new world-class venues such as the China's National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing ("The Big Egg" on Tiananmen Square East) and the new Shanghai Grand Theatre. Since its opening in 2009 CHNCPA has staged operas such as ''

Xi Shi Xi Shi (Hsi Shih; , ) was, according to legends, one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of the Spring and Autumn period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue. In traditional ...

'' and '' A Village Teacher'' in 2009, '' The Chinese Orphan'' in 2011, and the folk-opera '' The Ballad of Canal'' in 2012. The Shanghai Grand Theatre has similarly staged Chinese-language ''geju'' of the Shanghai Opera House company along with Italian, French and German-language operas.

List of works

The following includes some operas which are considered closer to the

traditional model than ''geju'' or western opera.

Experimental period, 1945-1956

* 1945 - Ma Ke (composer) et al. '' White-Haired Girl'' at

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'a ...

Lu Xun Art Academy After founding of the PRC, 1949: * 1954 - Chen Zi, Mao Yuan and Ge Guangrui: '' Liu Hulan'' 《刘胡兰》 Central Experimental Xin-geju Academy, Beijing * - Ma Ke: ''Xiao'erhei jiehun'' * 1955 - Luo Zongxian: '' Caoyuan zhi ge'' 《草原之歌》 "Song of the Prairies"

Second wave, 1956-1966

A second wave followed National Music Week, 1956, which lasted till the last geju ''Ayiguli'' in 1966 on the eve of the Cultural Revolution. * 1956 - Chen Zi and Liang Kexiang: '' Spring Blossoms'' ''Yingchunhua kaile'' (libretto by Lu Cang, Wang Lie) * 1956 -

Du Yu Du Yu (223– January or February 285), courtesy name Yuankai, was a Chinese classicist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the late Three Kingdoms period and early Jin dynasty. Life Du Yu was from Duling County ( ...

: Mongolian themed folk opera '' The Gada plum blossoms'' based on the Mongolian folk song ''Gada meilin'' * 1958 -

Zhang Rui (composer) Zhang Rui is the name of: *Zhang Rui (table tennis, born 1979) (), Chinese table tennis player who represented Hong Kong *Zhang Rui (table tennis, born 1997) Zhang Rui (, born 23 January 1997) is a Chinese table tennis player. She won three me ...

: ''

Rosy Clouds Rosy is a given name or nickname and, more rarely, a surname. It may refer to: __NOTOC__ People Given name * Rosy Afsari (1946?–2007), actress in the Bangladeshi film industry * Rosy Akbar, Fijian politician who assumed office in 2014 * Rosy Ar ...

'' ''Hong xia'' (libretto by Shi Han) * 1958 - Shu Tiemin and Ceng Fangke: ''

The Red-cloud Cliff ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' ''Hongyun ya'' (libretto by Liang Shangquan, Lu Peng, Jiang Shengtao, Su Mei) * 1958 - Zhang Dinghe: '' The Tale of Huai Yin'' ''Huai Yin ji'' (libretto by Lu Su, Huang Cengjiu, Guan Taiping) * 1959 -

Zhang Jing'an Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ''Zha ...

: '' Honghu Chiweidui'' "Red Guards of Lake Hong Hu",

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...

* 1959 -

Shi Lemeng Shi Lemeng (; b.12 October 1915 – 2008) was a Chinese composer who served in the People's Liberation Army.Women of China - 1993 "We again met our teachers Zhong, Shao and famous conductors Yan Liangkun, Shi Lemeng and Hu Defeng who had beco ...

: ''

Two Women of the Red Army 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many culture ...

'' ''Liangge nv hongjun'' (libretto by Chen Qitong) * 1959 - Zhuang Ying and Lu Ming: '' Keshan hong ri'' "Red Sun over Mount Ke" PLA Opera Troupe * 1960 - Wang Xiren and Hu Shiping: '' Hong Shanhu'' "Red Coral" libretto by Zhao Zhong, PLA Opera Troupe - also filmed by Wang Shaoyan director of the film ''Red Coral'' (1961) * 1960 - Chen Zi and

: ''Dou E Yuan'' based on the play '' The Grievances of Dou E'', also known as "Snow in Summer" * 1960 - Zhang Dinghe and

: Doushi Ting "The Poem Contest Pavilion" * 1961 - Chen Zi and

: '' Chun Lei'' "Spring Thunder" * 1962 - Zheng Lucheng: '' Longing for Husband Cloud'' (libretto by Xu Jiarui) * 1962 - Collective work: '' Liu Sanjie'', filmed as "Third Sister Liu" the same year. * 1964 - Ge Guangrui: '' Zi you houlai ren "We have our own successors"'' * 1964 -

Zhang Yu (composer) Zhang Yu may refer to: * Zhang Yu (actress) (张瑜; born 1957), Chinese film actress * Zhang Yu (basketball) (张瑜; born 1986), Chinese basketball player * Zhang Yu (footballer, born 1994) (张瑀), Chinese footballer * Zhang Yu (footballer, bor ...

: '' Red Plum-Blossom Ridge'' ''Hongmei Ling'', film version 1965 * 1964 - Chen Zi: '' Chunfeng yangliu'' "Willows in the spring breeze" * 1964 -

Yang Ming (composer) Yang Ming may refer to: *Mat Yeung or Yang Ming (born 1981), Hong Kong television actor *Yang Ming (kickboxer) Yang Ming () is a Chinese kickboxer. As of October 2022, he is ranked as the tenth(10th) best super bantamweight kickboxer in the wor ...

and

Jiang Chunyang Jiang may refer to: * ''Jiang'' (rank), rank held by general officers in the military of China *Jiang (surname) Jiang / Chiang can be a Mandarin transliteration of one of several Chinese surnames: #Jiǎng (surname), Jiǎng (surname 蔣) (#蔣 ...

: '' Jiang Jie'' "Sister Jiang" - libretto by Yan Su * 1965 -

: ''

Ren huan ma jiao Ren or REN may refer to: Abbreviations * Orenburg Tsentralny Airport, IATA code REN, civil airport in Russia * Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), Portuguese company * Renanthera, abbreviated as Ren, orchid genus * Ringer equivalence number ( ...

'' "A busy country scene" * 1966 - Shi Fu and Wusi Manjiang: '' Ayiguli'' * 1966 -

Mao Yuan Mao Yuan (茅沅, 1926–October 10, 2022) was a Chinese composer. He was for many years one of the resident composers of the CNOH producing such works as the 1966 geju ''The Great Wall of the South Seas'', co-composed with Ma Fei. In 1982 the Hous ...

and Ma Fei: ''

Nanhai Changcheng Nanhai () may refer to: *''Nanhai'', the Chinese name for the South China Sea, one of the Four Seas * Nanhai Commandery, the former Chinese administration over Liangguang *''Nanhai'', the Chinese name for the South China Sea Islands *The '' Nanh ...

"The Great Wall of the South Seas"

1966-1976 Cultural Revolution

1977 onward

* ''Flower-Guardian'' (1979) * ''Peng Dehuai Sits on the Sedan Chair'' (1980) * 1980 - Wang Shiguang and Cai Kexiang: '' Di yibai ge xinniang'' "The Hundredth Bride" * 1981 - Shi Guangnan: ''Shangshi'' "Mourning" - a 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. W ...

*The Youth of Today (1982) *The Wedding Sonata (1983) *The Homeland (1984) * 1983 - Wang Zujie and Zhang Zhuoya: '' Fangcaoxin'' "Fangfang, heart of grass", first performance Nanjing, Frontline Song and Dance Troupe. * 1987 - Jin Xiang: 原野 '' The Savage Land'' based on the play by

Cao Yu Cao Yu (, September 24, 1910 — December 13, 1996) was a Chinese playwright, often regarded as one of China's most important of the 20th century. His best-known works are ''Thunderstorm'' (1933), ''Sunrise'' (1936) and ''Peking Man'' (1940). ...

. * 1995 - Xu Zhanhai (徐占海 b.1945): ''

Cangyuan Cangyuan Va Autonomous County (; Va: ) is under the administration of Lincang City, in the southwest of Yunnan province, China. Wa/Va people are the main inhabitants here. Wa language Wa (Va) is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Wa p ...

'' "broad grasslands" Liaoning Geju Yuan, Shenyang production * 2006 -

Mo Fan Mo Fan (莫凡 Hangzhou, May 1949) is a Chinese composer. During the Cultural Revolution he was sent to Heilongjiang, where he taught himself composition. In 1979 he entered Shanghai Conservatory. Works * ''Thunderstorm A thunderstorm ...

: 雷雨 ''

Thunderstorm (opera) ''Leiyu'' (雷雨 "Thunderstorm") is a 2001 Chinese-language western-style opera by Hangzhou-born composer Mo Fan based on ''Thunderstorm'' by Cao Yu. True to the setting of the play Mo Fan introduced 1930s Shanghai salon tunes into the opera. Th ...

'' - 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 somet ...

'' * 2008 - Xiao Bai: '' Farewell My Concubine'' * 2009 -

Lei Lei Lei Lei (雷蕾) is a Chinese classical composer. She is best known for her music for TV dramas such as ''Plainclothes Policeman'', ''Aspiration'', and ''The Yellow Storm''. She has written two Chinese-language western-style operas to librettos by ...

: 《西施》''

'' to a libretto by Zou Jingzhi * 2009 - Hao Weiya: 《山村女教师》'' A Village Teacher'' * 2011 - Lei Lei:《赵氏孤儿》'' The Chinese Orphan'' * 2012 - Yin Qing: 《运河谣》'' Yunheyao'' "Ballad of Canal" * 2012 - Xu Zhanhai and others, '' Diaoyucheng'' - based on the story of

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Cou ...

Diaoyu Fortress The Diaoyucheng (), or Diaoyu Fortress, is a fortress located on the Diaoyu Mountain in Heyang Town, Hechuan District, Chongqing. It is known for its resistance to the Mongol armies in the latter half of the Song dynasty. History The death ...

* 2014 - Guo Wenjing :《骆驼祥子》''

Rickshaw Boy ''Rickshaw Boy'' or ''Camel Xiangzi'' () is a novel by the Chinese author Lao She about the life of a fictional Beijing rickshaw man. It is considered a classic of 20th-century Chinese literature. History Lao She began the novel in spring, ...

'' * 2014 - Lei Lei: 《冰山上的来客》'' Visitors on the Icy Mountain'' after the 1963 film * 2015 - Jin Xiang: 《日出》''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology ...

'' after the 1936 play by

Taiwan

Tenor William Wu (吴文修) directed 《万里长城》The Great Wall with music by Yang Yao-chang (楊耀章) and a libretto by Pi Kuo (碧果). Premiered by the Taiwan Metropolitan Opera (首都歌劇團) 1993, cross-straits production 1995. Republic of China Yearbook 1999 - Page 366 Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group - 2000 "And the Taiwan Metropolitan Opera has introduced local audiences to such works as Madame Butterfly. Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. One of its biggest sensations has been The Great Wall, a Western-style opera sung in Chinese and telling a Chinese story, performed in 1993. Wu is working on a second historical Chinese opera, based on the story of

Liao Tien-ting Liao Tianding (; Hepburn: ''Ryō Tentei;'' 1883–1909) was a legendary Taiwanese Robin Hood figure who foiled oppressive rulers when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. He was born in the Upper Tōa-to͘ District () in , Taiwan Prefecture ( Qing-d ...

..."

References

{{Opera topics * Opera in China