MEDIATHEK

The China National Peking Opera Company invited for the first time a non-chinese stage director to put a Peking Opera (Jīngjù) on stage.
 German director Anna Peschke created with her European performance-theatre background a new form of Jīngjù. German „Tagesspiegel“ wrote: „In China the theatre maker broke new ground.“
 
 Reasons for the choice of Goethes “Faust” were: the protagonist can be seen as archetype of modern mankind, who is exploiting other people (and the nature) for his pleasure and at the same time the timeless story connects well with the nature of stories in Jīngjù.
 
 This version of Faust offers a convergence between music by a Chinese composer, based on traditional melody methods (for 4 voices, jinghu, yueqin and Chinese percussion), and that by two Italian composers (for double bass, percussion, electric guitar and electronic sound).
 Electronic technology is used to place the instruments and voices in a multidimensional sound-space, in a context that evolves with the stage drama.
 The electronic parts are also the reworkings of sounds from the instruments themselves. In this sense, the electronic apparatus acts almost as a magnifying glass for a different listening to these sounds, while it also shapes a bridge between cultures.
 
 This project signifies a grand step into modernity by opening up the strict rules of traditional Peking Opera and it also allows to embrace an audience without knowledge of the codes of Jīngjù (western and young chinese spectators).