Award-winning Artists to Present Charm of Qinqiang Opera

A group of award-winning Qinqiang Opera artists will present a Qinqiang Opera Classic Arias performance at AIA Grand Theater this weekend.

Qinqiang Opera is a genre of Chinese folk opera which thrives in China's northwestern areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. It was added to the country's list of intangible heritage in 2006.

The opera is characterized by its passionate and tragic intensity, and its most striking impression comes from the singer's "roar" – a powerful, guttural vocal style.

This originates from its early performance environment: performed on open-air stages in the wilderness, actors had to project their voices with piercing strength to cut through the noisy crowds and deliver the emotions to every corner.

Beyond sheer volume, this performing style was also a way to express suffering and channel raw, genuine emotions, embodying a life full of struggle and defiance.

Qinqiang is not only about raw power. The singing of roles such as the young male lead (xiaosheng) and young female lead (xiaodan) can be equally gentle, elegant, and lingering.

The Shanghai performance stars a handful of Chinese Opera Plum Blossom Prize winners, including Qi Aiyun, Hou Hongqin, Zhang Tao, Yang Shengjuan and Li Min.

The program features a series of classic arias from Qinqiang Opera. Audiences will also have the opportunity to witness Qi's visually striking "flame-blowing" performance.

After the Shanghai stop, the show will continue with its national tour to cities like Suzhou, Nanchang, Changsha, Ningbo and Hangzhou.

If you go

Date: August 22, 7:30pm

Tickets: 80-380 yuan

Venue: AIA Grand Theater 北外滩友邦大剧院

Address: 889 Dongdaming Road 东大名路889号