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Critics and Comments

 

Zhong Chengxiang (Chairman and a renowned critic, Chinese Literary Critics Association)

it displays very high aesthetic levels. It is not adapted from an authentic historical event, nor an artistic and aesthetic expression of history itself. Basically, it develops from a fictional plot thanks to the inspiration of the artists as the subjects of the creation process. The opera is characterized with an aesthetic structure, with the features of a moral play, and a perfect sense of form. The major role types, its theatrical form and aesthetic advantages are all well reflected in the opera..

“Tale of an Ancient Painting: How to play big with a small compound”, a literary review published on Guangming Daily on November 24th, 2018.

 

Hu Xiaojun (Chairman, Shanghai Literary Critics Association)

It serves as a fine example of artistic experiment. The five performers have shifted from their own role to that of the other, and in several cases they even have a chorus by playing a walk-on part, which seems to me as a representation of the ecology of the officialdom, and a panorama of human nature in nowadays society. As a result, the opera reaches a general value judgment. The drummer, dressed in modern costumes, can be seen as an external factor of the performing structure, and he also plays an alienated and suggestive role with the underlying philosophy of "observing the ancient life with a modern perspective".

——“An experiment for the sake of pioneering spirit”, a literary review published on “Journal of Literature” August 23rd, 2018

 

Kang Shizhao (former Deputy Director, Guiding Group for National Key Operas, Bureau of Art, Ministry of Culture)

This is a morality show of profound values. As a light comedy it tells a quite absurd story, and as an innovative opera it plays the advantages of traditional Chinese opera to the full. The virtuality, its supposition and stylization all speak for the characteristics and advantages of opera as an art form, not to mention a fluid and exuberant shifts of time and space. “Tale of an Ancient Painting” has done a remarkable job in this respect.

——“Tale of an Ancient Painting: An innovative opera that plays the advantage of traditional Chinese opera to the full”, a literary review published on “Journal of Literature and Art” on December 21st, 2018

 

Dai Ping (Professor, Shanghai Theatre Academy)

This is a Huai Opera of very strong pioneering and exploring nature. The stylized performances of the five major types of Chinese opera - the male, the female, the painted face, the clownish, and the comic roles - can be seen as a symbol of opera. However, the opera also demonstrates artistic innovation in terms of narratives and displays of scenes. The mix-and-match and hybridization features are seems as the symbols of postmodern dramas

——"Tiny and queer, ancient yet new”, a literary review published on “Xinmin Evening News”, July 29th, 2018.

 

Liu Ping (Research Fellow, Institute for Literature Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

With very genuine sophistications, The Old Masters with a shocking “painting” that reflects the good and evil, the beauty and ugliness of the human life. It is in essence a war in quest of fame and wealth in the earthly world. The play managed to carve out a brand new yet practical road of artistic creation that carries forward the tradition of classical Chinese operas and passes it down to younger generations.

——“On the innovation of Tale of an Ancient Painting: Sticking to the nature of theatre”, a literary review published on “Cultural Tourism in China”, December 30th, 2018.

 

Tan Jingbo (Research Fellow, Henan Provincial Art Institute) 

The opera is performed with very strong experimental nature. The playwright and the director make some special adjustments to the five major role types in traditional Chinese opera. The male, the female, the painted face, the clownish and the comic role: the categorization system helps to normalize the role types with art standard, and the system also reflects the human nature and performing features of different roles. In all, it’s a unique method how the operas shape the various characters. All the symbols are merged well with the performance on stage, with the fictional and the factual parts complemented with each other, playing skillfully the opera’s function of “artistic conception” to the full.

——“A large scroll of the world panorama on a small stage”, a literary review published on “Journal of Chinese Art” on December 10th, 2018.

 

Li Xiaoju (Research fellow, Institute for Opera Studies, Chinese National Academy of Art)

The opera is characterized with rich modern flavor, strong sense of form on stage, and very unique structural measures. By doing so the opera displays to the full the beauty of the role types and forms of Chinese traditional operas, and modern aesthetic styles can also find their traces. Tradition and modernity – the two sides are magically merged into one thanks to the traditional centrality of its creative ideas, and the modern openness of its artistic form.

——“Tale of an Ancient Painting: A tribute to the Traditional Chinese Opera in the style of a fashionable pioneer”, a literature review published on “Chinese Theatre” on the first issue of 2019

 

Sun Hongxia (Research Fellow, Institute for Opera Studies, Chinese National Academy of Art)

“Tale of an Ancient Painting” is commendable in multiple perspectives. The creation team of the opera is comprised of young talents, and the opera carries in its own theatre features a pioneering flavor. Besides, the literary purpose is clear-cut, and the stage images are very highly symbolized, with a unique concept of time and space on stage. All these factors mentioned above, when they are merged into one, help to promote a “postmodern” flavor of “Tale of an Ancient Painting”, which distinguishes the opera from other traditional Huai operas. In terms of its singing mode, the performers, while sticking to the traditional systematic tunes, consummate their performance with the aide of “four basics and five principles”. I conclude by saying that the opera serves as a loyal and even stubborn guard for the tradition of Huai opera, and the essential value of the opera’s creation philosophy lies in its innovation of the tradition while still holding fast to it.

——“The postmodern flavor bred with the tradition of Huai opera”, a literary review published on “Oriental Art” in December, 2018.