Traditional opera meets digital age

Recently, 21-year-old Zhang Tanhao has been working with a group of young Peking Opera enthusiasts to adapt the 1990s animated series Hulu Xiao Jin Gang (Diamond Brother) into a Peking Opera performance. Created by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio, this cartoon holds nostalgic value for many born in the 1990s and 2000s.

Zhang's journey with Peking Opera began in high school when he developed an interest in gufeng music, a genre that blends traditional Chinese elements with pop music.

"I was drawn to the operatic vocals in these songs, which led me to explore traditional opera," he recalled. "Eventually, just listening wasn't enough — I wanted to sing it myself."

Zhang began learning through online videos and sought professional lessons from a local teacher in his hometown in Jilin province, who guided him in vocal techniques and body movements.

Learning traditional Chinese opera wasn't easy, especially for someone like Zhang, who hadn't trained in it since childhood. He struggled with body coordination and flexibility, and with limited free time during high school, he practiced whenever possible.

"The daily practice was tedious, but it built a strong foundation for my further study," Zhang said.

In 2021, Zhang enrolled at South-Central Minzu University in Wuhan, Hubei province. He soon noticed that the hot, dry climate of the southern city was affecting his voice, prompting him to shift his focus.

"I chose to specialize in qiaogong," he said, referring to a challenging Peking Opera technique typically performed by huadan (young, lively female characters). "It emphasizes physical agility more than vocal skills."

Qiaogong requires performers to wear special shoes over 10 centimeters high, balancing on their tiptoes or even just their big toes. This technique is often referred to as "Eastern ballet". But unlike ballet, some opera pieces require performers to jump onto the armrests of chairs and perform complex physical movements.

"At first, just standing still on the ground in those shoes was difficult," Zhang recalled. "I fell many times, but with more practice, it became easier."

According to Zhang, qiaogong embodies an ethereal grace and is used to portray ghostly characters in certain performances. "In these roles, the actor glides across the stage with a steady upper body, while only the feet move, creating the illusion of floating," he explained.

It was the unique qualities of qiaogong that inspired Zhang to adapt Hulu Xiao Jin Gang into a Peking Opera version. "One of the main characters in the animation is the snake demon, and qiaogong is a perfect way to showcase the snake's graceful, floating nature," Zhang explained.

Youthful appeal

Since the start of the year, Zhang and his team have been working on the piece, developing the script, choreography, and vocal styles. They plan to film the production by midyear for competitions and hope to stage public performances in the future.

At just about one hour long, this opera is shorter than typical Peking Opera performances, making it more accessible to younger audiences, especially those experiencing opera for the first time.

"I hope this work will help them see, understand, and fall in love with Peking Opera," Zhang said.

Most of Zhang's performance partners are university students, all dedicated to bridging the gap between traditional opera and younger audiences. For example, when performing at Wuhan Textile University last year, Zhang and his partners decided to add a drum kit to the traditional percussion ensemble for a martial arts piece.

"This addition enhanced the rhythm of the martial scenes and made them more engaging for younger audiences," he explained.

Zhang has also begun incorporating internet slang into the dialogue of traditional opera, a change he applied in one of his performances in Henan in March.

"The script was witty and humorous. We want to break the stereotype that Peking Opera is just about long, slow singing without variety," Zhang said. "Traditional art can be vibrant and resonate with the younger generation."