A night at the opera in Shanghai.

This is the first striking event I want to keep in my memory before it vanishes.
I have to try to express what I felt during this performance of a traditional Chinese opera at the Yifu Theater. (June 22 2012)
We were given a hand out in English inside the beautiful programme. At least we managed to understand the situation and also who were the main characters on stage. There were beautiful decorative subtiles (much bigger than ours, easy to be read from a distance, but these were only decorative for me! D. can read some of the nice designs but I am still like a blind person in this place, I do not read and speak so it is really frustrating).
With the music (four musicians and ritual instruments accompanied the singers) and the gestures, it was possible to guess the feelings which were expressed. The voices were fascinating when getting in the high range. The rhythm accelerated while the singers'heads shook with the sounds produced, then the audience was reacting with pleasure in a sort of roaring wave until the applause thundered. I cannot imagine such enthousiasm expressed during an aria in any house here. That night the audience was not dead silent like it is here and its participation was intense. I noticed people knew the parts very well and were anticipating the great moments of singing for each character.
I understood the sorrow of the Mother because she wept. At one point the hero wept and cried his sufferings. It was strange to hear violent cries on separate repeated notes. Each character had a tune which was acclaimed with roars of pleasure and thunder of applause.
These are some samples of the evening.

The beauty of the costumes, the rich material and colours will always make me dream. Every thing on stage has a meaning and so has the slightest gesture of a finger moving in the air as a response to the singing or certainly being also part of the meaning of the singing.

At one point when the Princess presents the hired baby the audience laughed heartily. But I did not get the message entirely!
Will I, one day, get the 'message'?
Still, watching them performing so beautifully and listening to these stunning musical parts is a real experience of some piece of Art completely different.
what I will like to recall with happiness is the cheerful audience and the strange uproar of satisfaction .
So, next year in Shanghai at Yifu theater again to get more into this amazing Art of singing, dancing, performing!