Beijing Opera in English

Though he’s seen a number of Beijing Opera performances over the years, the Canadian Beijing Opera fan never fully understood the plot until recently, when the China Academy of Traditional Opera offered English dubbing for foreigners.

“It was the first time I’ve really understood an art form that I’ve loved for a long time.” said the excited Canadian following the April 28 performance of the noted opera, “Legend of the White Snake”. Through earphones, the audience heard simultaneous interpre tation of the four main characters’ lyrics, delivered by two native English speakers and two Chinese.

“The interpreters did a very good job,” said Zhao Jingbo, the assistant president of the academy, “They dub the lyrics with expression and emotion. All of them attended the performers’ rehearsals to understand the opera better.”

Zhao explained the significance of this experimental form of traditional Beijing opera. “Generally speaking, the foreigners appreciate Beijing Opera through action and music rather than language. Therefore the deeper meaning in the lyrics, which tells more about Chinese culture, usually means less to them than that of the acrobatic fighting and actions. With simultaneous interpretation, our Chinese culture is fully conveyed.”

Some twenty years ago, Beijing Opera was performed in English for the first time. And later, English transcripts were flashed on screens of traditional opera houses in Beijing. By Zhu Lin （Beijing Today)