Can you just sit in the theater when you watch an opera? On the afternoon of December 9th, the "Balcony Opera", presented by the "Art Tree Project" and carefully planned and choreographed by the Shanghai Opera House, refreshed the audience's understanding of enjoying opera. At the Shanghai Concert Hall, where ginkgo biloba is scattered, the beautiful song comes from the balcony to the west, and the pedestrians who hurried by stop and look up, it turns out that the male and female protagonists of the opera "Romeo and Juliet" are talking to each other.
The "'Walking into' New Scene of Performing Arts - Balcony Opera", presented by the "Art Tree Project", premiered at the Shanghai Concert Hall, an immersive opera performance created and performed by artists of the Shanghai Opera House, which selected the classic passages of many opera works such as "La Traviata", "Romeo and Juliet", "Jani Sskiki", etc., under the premise of strictly implementing the epidemic prevention requirements, make full use of the architectural space of the concert hall, in step by step, scene by scene, in the background of ginkgo biloba, red maple and blue sky, Let the audience appreciate the beauty of the fusion of architecture and art.
Breaking the mold The balcony can also be a stage for one party
Pushing through the door from the concert hall's North Hall, the golden carved dome and the rotating escalator of white jade are like the entrance to a time tunnel, bringing the audience back to the home of Violetta, a famous parisian socialite more than 100 years ago. Above the cloister on the second floor, "Violetta" sings one of the most famous arias from La Traviata, "He's probably the one I long to meet," with a gorgeous, rounded voice that runs straight through the hall and between each column.
The song finally dispersed, and in a corner of the west balcony of the concert hall, "Romeo" and "Juliet" were making a deep confession, a classic duet "Go!" I forgive you for "swinging back to the intestines, and the passers-by who followed the sound gathered in the square from all directions and held up their mobile phones to record the lives and deaths of the lovers. At this time, "Violetta" also led the crowd out of the concert hall, above the square, invited the audience to raise a glass and sing "Drinking Song".
After witnessing Roju's love, in the south hall of the concert hall, another pair of "lovers", "Lauretta" and "Rinutio" in the one-act opera "Jani Skiki", are experiencing a realistic farce about family, love and money, of which the classic songs "My Dear Daddy" and "Florence are like a blossoming tree" are even more colorful.
The "Balcony Opera" is about an hour and a half long, but the audience still feels that it is not exhausted, and the immersive way of watching with the actors has also changed their views on traditional opera, and some audiences said: "Not only is the distance with the actors closer, but also the distance with the opera art is also closer." ”
Service upgrades make citizens more sense of gain and happiness
As the grand finale of this year's "Art Tree Project", "Balcony Opera" has undergone many rounds of program demonstration from desk planning to final presentation, and how to perfectly integrate the architecture of the concert hall with the opera scene is a topic in front of director Mada. "In the end, we made a bold decision not to build a real scene, completely with the help of the internal structure and decoration of the concert hall, and even the lighting used natural lighting as much as possible, using natural carving methods to enhance the audience's immersive experience." The live effect of the premiere also proves that the return to the "authenticity" of architecture and art instantly makes the characters in the play become intimate and vivid, and the voice is full of emotion and reaches the hearts of the people.
In terms of performance details, the creative team also strives for excellence. Since it involves multiple performance spaces, in order to ensure a seamless connection between each scene, the design of the moving line of the performance must be repeatedly deliberated and timed. In order to pursue the immersive performance effect, the costume team also prepared different styles and sizes of costumes for the audience who liked to dress up, so that they could also become real "drama people".
It is reported that after the premiere, the Shanghai Opera House will also polish and upgrade the "Balcony Opera", and as an performing arts brand that popularizes and promotes opera art, it will meet with more audiences.