Opera Wuju from the list of intangible heritage of China conquered the streets of Brest in the framework of the “White Vezhi”

Bright costumes, live music, virtuoso plastics and martial arts techniques - today the participants of the XXX International Theatre Festival "White Vezha" again went beyond the usual stage. Street performance of the Opera company "U" from the Chinese province of Zhejiang gathered in the open air Brest residents and guests of the city, reports sb.by.

So the festival restores one of its bright traditions - street performances. The theater leaves the hall, dissolves into the urban space and finds its own audience. To be in the front row, you did not need a ticket: you just needed to hear music, notice a flash of red and gold in the city everyday life and stop.

And getting past was almost impossible.

With the first drum beats, the platform at the fountain on Soviet Street was transformed. Before the audience there were characters in layered costumes, complex headdresses with long feathers and expressive makeup. Bright fabrics soared in motion, decorations gleamed in the sun, and every turn of the head and wave of the hand looked like part of a mysterious ritual.

However, behind the external effect there was something more than a colorful performance. In Brest came the traditional Chinese opera Wuju, or opera Wu, originated in the province of Zhejiang. Its name is associated with Uzhou - the ancient name of the Jinhua region. This art combines several vocal and musical traditions, and the stage narrative is built on a variety of expressive means at once.

It's not just the voice. The character of the hero is revealed by his gait, the position of his fingers, the line of the costume, the color of makeup and even the direction of his look. Vocals are combined with dance, acrobatics and martial arts, so the artist is not enough just to perform the role - he must equally fluent in his voice and body. The music sounds live, setting the rhythm for each movement: it drives the action with a frequent fraction, then makes it seem to freeze on one expressive gesture.

In 2008, Wuju was included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. But in Brest, this art did not look like a frozen museum exhibit. On the contrary, it turned out to be alive, temperamental and able to talk to the viewer without translation.

On the improvised stage, the artists presented traditional characters significant to Chinese culture. Even those who previously knew nothing about Wuju, the plot was helped to read plastics, music and contrast images. For a few minutes, the audience was watching every move, froze before tricky tricks and responded with applause to especially spectacular episodes.

For the U Opera Company, this trip was the first acquaintance with Belarus. The producer of the team admitted that it was important for the artists not only to surprise Brest residents with bright costumes and virtuoso technique, but also to open up the huge world of traditional Chinese theater for them:

- There are more than 300 types of traditional theatre in China, and today we have only shown one of them. Famous characters came to the venue, each of whom occupies a special place in our culture. We came to Belarus for the first time and have come a long way, so we especially hope that the audience will feel the beauty of Chinese opera and become interested in our traditions. Brest is a very beautiful city, we were warmly welcomed here, and we are happy to share our art.

The street program became a kind of invitation to a big meeting with the team. In the evening, the artists will show the play “Three Battles with the Demon of White Bones”, based on an episode of the classic Chinese novel “Journey to the West”. Viewers are waiting for the confrontation of the Monkey King Sun Wukong and a multifaceted demonitsa, able to change appearances. The play will feature traditional opera, live music, acrobatics and kung fu techniques. The company has already presented this production in more than 30 countries – yesterday it was first seen in the capital of Belarus, today it will be seen by Brest.

The last musical accent was made, but the meeting was not over. The audience applauded, shouted "Bravo!" and was in no hurry to let the artists go. A queue quickly lined up for photos with the heroes of the performance, and the children presented Belarusian chocolate to the Chinese guests – albeit a small, but very warm cultural exchange turned out.

Emotions were shared by adults. Brest residents Snezhan Kraskovskaya Pilipchuk and Lyudmila Pilipchuk together with their friends try not to miss the events of the anniversary "White Vezha". We visited the opening of the festival and watched Swan Lake, and now we got acquainted with the traditional art of China.

- Excellent, bright, fun - got a real charge of positive! The costumes are incredibly beautiful, and it was impossible to look away from the artists. We photographed a lot and took pictures with the members of the troupe. It was unusual, interesting and very lively, Snezhana said.

Lyudmila Pilipchuk added:

- It is wonderful that the “White Vezha” is held in Brest. You can see teams from different countries, get acquainted with their culture and get so many positive emotions. Thank you to the organizers for having such a celebration.