St Petersburg, Mariinsky Theatre
Performance of the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre
On-line broadcast
Marking 70 years since the establishment of the People's Republic of China
The dance drama Confucius is based on the wisdom and life course of Confucius. 60 dancers of the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre will bring his story back to life. The dance drama uses dance elements to describe Confucius's experience in traveling around China and the difficulties in putting the Confucianism into practice. The drama presents Confucius's mind and feelings with abundant melody and staged imagery, shows Confucius's idea, wisdom, and passes the essence of Chinese traditional culture.
During the troubled times, the king was fatuous, fond of women and didn't take Confucius's suggestions seriously. Meanwhile, most ministers were crafty and fawning and schemed against each other. Confucius advised the king to implement the policy of benevolence but the efforts ended up in vain. The court conflicts finally affected Confucius, who was compelled to escape and seemingly saw the ideal world of universal harmony аmid the tribulations.
The frequent wars made people homeless and the beautiful apricot tree gardens turned into battlefields. Along the way home in the darkness, he sang the Orchid Melody not to express his own sorrow, but suggest the grand but tough task ahead. He was on the homeward journey, but actually was on the way to a brilliant world.
About the performers
China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater
Affiliated to the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater is the largest state-level theatrer with the longest history in China. Within the theatre there is an opera troupe, dance drama troupe, folk music troupe, symphony orchestra, creation studio as well as a stage designing department. The theatre was established in 1951. Over half of the century, the theater has performed more than one hundred operas and dance dramas, which have marked the history of Chinese arts and established symbolic images for China's theatre. At the invitation of a several countries, the theatre has frequently presented its performance to audience around the world. With its classical stage performances and first-class artists, the theatre has won wide recognition and appreciation not only domestically.
The Dance Drama Troupe of the CNODDT is the only national-level Chinese dance drama troupe in China. Over the past six decades since its founding, it has gathered the most renowned Chinese dancers who formed a unique style of Chinese dances. During creating dances, CNODDT Dance Drama Troupe has absorbed the essence of classical Chinese dances and local opera dances. Its creations have gotten wide recognition all over the world and laid a foundation for the Chinese dance drama theory.