Leading lady takes on star role

Kunqu Opera diva embraces challenge of portraying patriotic heroine, Chen Nan reports.

Wei Chunrong has built a reputation as a leading actress of Kunqu Opera, the oldest traditional Chinese opera with a history of about 600 years, which, performed in the Suzhou dialect, is known for graceful body movements, rhythmic singing and exquisite costumes.

She started to learn the ancient art form at 10 years of age and has been performing with the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre since she was 16. At 32, Wei won the Chinese Theater Plum Blossom Award, the top national performing arts award. Known for her roles in classic Kunqu Opera productions, such as Du Liniang in The Peony Pavilion and Cui Yingying in The Romance of the West Chamber, Wei performed at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in 2001, when the organization listed it as one of the masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

Now in her 50s, Wei has found a new role, which she calls "challenging yet fulfilling". In the original Kunqu Opera production, titled Guo Feng, which was premiered in September 2021, Wei plays the role of Lady Xu Mu, who was a patriotic heroine and the first female poet recorded in Chinese history. The production has toured nationwide on three occasions. The latest two shows, staged at Tianqiao Theatre in Beijing on June 20 and 21, were part of the ongoing celebration of the 66th birthday of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre.

"I played different roles in Kunqu Opera during the past four decades and most of them are beautiful, soft and sentimental. Many of the roles are portrayed by different Kunqu Opera actresses of different generations. For Lady Xu Mu, I have to put aside all my experiences about performing other female roles and start afresh to comprehend and perform the role," said Wei, sitting in the dressing room of Tianqiao Theatre a day before the show started on June 19.

Lady Xu Mu was born into a royal family of the State of Wei during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). After marrying the ruler of the State of Xu and moving to the remote state, Lady Xu Mu expressed her homesickness by writing poetry. When she heard that the State of Wei had been defeated in war, she decided to go back to help rebuild it.

She also wrote poems to express her love and devotion for her homeland.