The visit of the national Beijing opera company to Edinburgh is both a real cultural eye-opener and a completely enthralling experience. The Forest of the Wild Boars is based on the literary classic All Men Are Brothers , and tells the story of Lin Chong, a military officer who is exiled by the minister of defence, whose foppish son desires Lin Chong's wife. Legend of the White Snake is a tale from Chinese mythology, detailing the relationship between Bai Suzhen, the spirit of a snake which has taken the form of a beautiful woman and her modest husband Xu Xian. Their happiness is threatened when a monk convinces Xu Xian that his wife is evil. Both pieces provide a fascinating glimpse into another world, transporting the audience to a far off place, long ago.
At first, it all seems a bridge too far, an unfathomable combination of high pitched singing and higher pitched speaking. The sing-song rhythms are repetitive and the lapses from spoken words to sung are always heralded by an identical burst of introductory music. The songs all appear to be set to variations on the same tune, and the music, led by a screeching violin and punctuated by clanging percussion, edges at times towards cacophony.
Once the initial shock has worn off however, everything starts to make a lot more sense. The repetition is merely the narrative style and the music, while hard on the ears of the uninitiated, becomes remarkably lulling once one has adjusted to it. In dee d when one gets used to the alien sounds, and abandons any ethnocentric notions of what opera is ‘supposed' to sound like, it is very easy to sit back and enjoy the spectacle.
The backdrops are breathtaking, with landscapes painted in lush colours. In front of these verdant scenes hang layers of thin netting, supporting tree branches, creating an illusion of distance that is far too great for the confines of the stage. In a memorable scene from The Forest of the Wild Boars , Lin Chong, saying goodbye to his wife as he goes into exile, walks offstage, then walks back across behind the netting. This scene, beautifully lit, is testament to the genius of the staging; even though in reality he is only a few feet further back, he appears immeasurably further away, untouchable and isolated.
The richness of the setting is mirrored by the ornate costumes of the actors: long flowing robes, painted faces and bejeweled headdresses. Colour and movement combine to spectacular effect in the frequent action scenes, with hordes of bodies turning the stage into a living kaleidoscope. Acrobatics play as big a part in Chinese opera as singing and the choreography is mind-blowing, particularly in the epic battle between the water spirits and the heavenly warriors in Legend of the White Snake . The ranks of the spirits, carrying rippling blue banners to create the effect of a raging torrent, are invaded by somersaulting black figures, who engage them in hand to hand combat. As the waters rise and the battle nears its conclusion, individual warriors by turn leap, flip and vault over a giant blue banner waved by the spirits. The audience go crazy, cheering wildly after every move.
Humour has an important role, with both operas featuring clown figures: spoiled simpletons or ignorant peasants who provide light relief in even the most serious of situations. The operas also take a less than flattering look at religion, with the monk character in The Forest of the Wild Boars a fat (though heroic) drunkard, and an overly zealous fanatic who stands in the way of love in Legend of the White Snake . Heroism wins the day in both pieces, but in the battle of good versus evil, righteousness is a long and lonely journey and the hero must suffer.
The shock at the start of the night was merely a taster. The real surprise comes when the curtain falls and reality returns. Like Lin Chong, distanced behind a layer of netting, Edinburgh seemed so far away.
