Seniors keep ‘opera alive’ – US-Cuba festival

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KUNMING, China, Jan 13, (AFP): White make-up covering their aged faces, Chinese performers — all aged over 50 — don richly-coloured robes and false beards to belt out tunes passed down for more than two centuries.

The “Flower Lantern” Yunnan Opera troupe performs each day on a run-down stage, their droning instruments and melismatic singing mingling with sounds from a vegetable market next door.

But just a few elderly spectators sit watching, a sign of waning interest in the art despite their efforts.

“The situation is getting worse each year, our stage has moved seven times and each time it gets smaller,” said He Zhengcai, the group’s 72-year-old director.

Backstage with half-done make-up, he briefed each performer about the characters and plots for the afternoon’s two hour show.

He has six decades of experience, and many of the seven other actors, who looked in rusty mirrors to daub their faces with powder, are also veterans.

Heritage

“I normally inform everyone his or her role half an hour before the show. They prepare their lines while doing make-up.”

Similar to the better-known Peking Opera, the performances in Yunnan date back more than 200 years, with government officials declaring it part of the nation’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.

But He said the troupe generally only attracts audiences of around 30 people and makes little money from the shows.

“Nowadays there are so many kinds of entertainment, young people are no longer interested in this art, and our audiences are old fellows in general.”

Zhong Huifang, 66, has performed the operas since she was a young girl.

But she smiled about the company’s small box office takings. “No one here is coming for money, I just enjoy performing,” she declared.

The mostly aging audience seated on makeshift wooden benches was sparse, with some more interested in playing mahjong on tables beside the stage.

Others watched for only a few minutes, snapping pictures on their smartphones before leaving.

Future

Group founder Gao Qinying, 75, says she is worried about the future.

“I don’t think the group could survive another year,” she said, calling for more government support as fans literally die off.

“Five old friends used to sit there together, they came and sat on the same spot everyday,” said Gao, pointing to some back row seats.

“Now they are all gone.”

Major Lazer, one of the most popular acts in electronic music, will perform in Cuba as part of a rare US-linked festival as relations thaw between the Cold War adversaries.

The group, whose “Lean On” is the most popular song ever on streaming service Spotify, will play March 6 on the Havana waterfront to kick off the Musicabana festival of more than 25 artists.

The Musicabana Foundation, which promotes joint US-Cuban cultural activities and organized the events announced on Tuesday, said the concerts would be free for Cubans, with foreigners encouraged to buy tickets and travel to the island.

Performers at the festival will include classic artists of the nueva trova movement of Cuban roots music, 72-year-old Pablo Milanes and 52-year-old Carlos Varela, and Ibeyi, the Afro-Cuban R&B duo of Paris-born twin sisters.

Major Lazer’s main member Diplo, a producer who has recently worked with Madonna and Justin Bieber, said in a statement that he wanted to perform in Havana in part because of Cuba’s “powerful cultural impact all over the world.”

Diplo said he developed an appreciation for Cuban culture by growing up in Miami and visiting the island several years ago with the Puerto Rican group Calle 13.

“During my four days there, my mind was blown by the people, depth of culture and their way of life,” he said.

Linkages between the United States and Cuba have rapidly grown since December 2014, when Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro agreed to restore relations after a half-century of hostility.

The thaw has opened new opportunities for US fans and the recording industry to work in Cuba, renowned for its rich musical heritage.

US artists who have already headed to Cuba since the improvement of ties include light jazz saxophonist Kenny G, bearded hard rockers ZZ Top and Dead Daisies, the metal supergroup with members of Guns N’ Roses and other bands.

While the US Congress has not lifted the strict embargo on the communist island, US law allows exemptions for citizens to visit for cultural exchanges.

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