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A Chinese cultural performance featuring exclusively Peking Opera was staged in the U.S. city of Houston on Sunday to celebrate the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Over 1,000 home-sick overseas Chinese as well as Chinese culture-loving natives flocked to the Cullen Performance Hall at the University of Houston for the show. Many of them are fervent fans of Peking Opera while others have never heard a line before.
Cindy Bond, 57, a VIP guest, told Xinhua before the opening of the show that she was expecting to gain all her knowledge of Peking Opera from the show as she virtually had no idea about what she would see on stage.
"I come here to learn more about China," she said.
Jiang Shouying, 80, who lived in Beijing before emigrating to the United States, is apparently a long-time fan. Wearing a red chi-pao, the elegant lady could not hide her excitement before a TV camera. "I have waited for this for a long time," Jiang exclaimed.
Indeed, it was not the first time that the gala, named "Cultures of China, Festival of Spring," has been put on stage in Houston. But it was the first one featuring exclusively Peking Opera in recent years.
In her opening remarks, U.S. congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee hailed Peking Opera as the very highest form of Chinese art, which "everyone should see."
Asked whether she worried some English-speaking spectators may get lost in the sophisticated art, she quipped, "Beauty is universal."
Lee was proved right. Since the start of the three-hour-long gala, cheers and applause never ceased. With the help of a projector, the audience was able to read the otherwise-hard-to-catch lines in both Chinese and English.
The audience laughed heartily when the real and fake Monkey Kings, an all-time favorite character in the renowned "Journey to the West," were competing to validate their identity. They shared with Yu Ji's sorrow when the beloved concubine of Xiang Yu danced for the hero the last dance before slitting her own throat.
The authentic singing and exquisite gesture together with folk music contributed to the vibes of festivity and merriment at the Cullen Hall. Few left the room before some 30 top-tier artists from different schools and genres of Peking Opera performed more than a dozen classic selections.
Dignitaries including Chinese Consul General in Houston Li Qiangmin also watched the show and extended their new year wishes to the audience.
Sunday night's gala was sponsored by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of China and organized by its Beijing branch and the Chinese Civic Center in Houston.
The annual show, often touring across the United States and Europe, is aimed at enriching overseas Chinese' lives during the lunar new year and promoting Chinese culture worldwide.
After Houston, the show will also be staged in Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Enditem
