A List
9/27/04

BEIJING OPERA TO BE PERFORMED AT ST. LAWRENCE

CANTON – The Adventures of the Monkey King: A Beijing Opera will be performed at 
St. Lawrence University on Wednesday, October 6, at 8 p.m. in Gulick Theatre. 
The event is open to the public, free of charge.
      Quite unlike traditional presentations of European-based operas, this 
performance features a small army of performers somersaulting across the stage, 
twirling spears,  tossing swords and  executing martial-arts moves, all the while 
singing melodiously, costumed in magnificent silk brocades and multi-colored makeup. 
      The touring production of The Adventures of the Monkey King: A Beijing 
Opera is organized by Cornell East Asia Program, and funded in part by the Freeman 
Foundation; its executive producer is David Patt. At St. Lawrence, it is presented 
by the Asian Studies program, the Asian Studies Initiative and the music department.
      Beijing Opera has been called "an artistic ocean" – the only art form that 
encapsulates Chinese culture and history, literature, music, dance, acrobatics, 
stage fighting and acting, as well as the fine arts of face-painting and the 
magnificent imperial costumes of the past. In Beijing Opera all these elements 
are brought together into one integrated form.
      The International Monkey King Troupe is a 17-person company based in Beijing 
that draws on the talented students, graduates and senior masters of the National 
Academy of Beijing Opera. The leader of the troupe is Ghaffar Pourazar, a British 
performer who was the first foreigner to complete the arduous training at the 
National Academy. Their mission is to make Beijing Opera accessible to a worldwide 
audience. Their shows incorporate an introduction to the Beijing Opera form, 
and the dialogue of selected scenes is spoken in English.

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