The immersive resident drama "Dream of the Lake" tailored for the Huguang Guild Hall explores a new form of integration of the guild hall and opera, photographed by Zheng Liang, a reporter from China.com
China Network Beijing, January 6 (Reporter Zheng Liang) On the evening of January 5, a Peking Opera "opened" with the meaning that everything went smoothly, and played a new chapter of "the Huguang Guild Hall has a play". After a year and a half of renovation, the Huguang Guild Hall was officially reopened.
A renovated stage in the Huguang Guild Hall in Beijing. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang
With the mellow historical context of Huguang, it ignites the new glory of the Beijing Opera Museum
Founded in 1807, Beijing Huguang Guild Hall is a national key cultural relics protection unit, integrating the three major cultural contexts of guild hall culture, opera culture and scholar culture. She has witnessed the times and preserved the memory of the city, and is one of the important guild halls with theaters in Beijing. There are many famous artists and tickets in Liyuan here, Mei Lanfang, Tan Xinpei, Chen Delin, Tian Guifeng, Shi Huibao, Wang Junzhi and other Peking Opera masters have performed here. Beginning in the late Qing Dynasty, the "Gengyang Collection" is a ticket club set up by celebrities and famous ticket holders in the Huguang Guild Hall, which is famous all over the country and continues to this day.
The "Beijing Opera Museum" in the Huguang Guild Hall in Beijing. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang
Relying on the "Beijing Opera Museum", Beijing Huguang Guild Hall has carefully planned and launched two special exhibitions. "Juhai Hongmeng" Exhibition of the Birthplace of Peking Opera presents precious opera documents, cultural relics, pictures and audio-visual materials, leading the audience to experience the Peking Opera culture that originated in the fertile soil of Xicheng. The "Majestic Structure" Beijing Huguang Hall History and Culture Exhibition presents the history of Huguang that has survived the vicissitudes of life in three dimensions with two chapters: "Wencui Huguang" and "Brilliant Huguang".
Interior view of the renovated Huguang Guild Hall. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang
With the multi-dimensional new format of opera life aesthetics, we will create a new cultural landmark of "the first contemporary hall".
From the heavy and simple cultural relics, to the new model of the activation and utilization of the splendid and dazzling cultural relics, from the place where literati and people with lofty ideals gathered in the past, to the current excellent traditional culture display space in various places, from the old site of theatrical performances into the guild hall, to the new cultural format of the old streets and alleys. Since the second half of 2021, Xicheng District has deeply excavated the resources of the guild hall, revitalized the space resources of the characteristic guild hall according to the architectural and spatial characteristics of the old site of the guild hall, awakened the pulse of the ancient capital culture, explored the implementation path to realize the market-oriented operation of the guild hall, and helped the generation of a new situation of "big drama in Beijing and good drama in the guild hall".
The national style tea parlor in the Huguang Guild Hall. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang
As a state-owned cultural industry development platform in Xicheng District, Tianqiao Shengshi Group actively introduces diversified and high-quality cultural resources, and on the basis of outputting good performance content, explores the operation mode of Huguang Guild Hall, the "No. 1 Guild Hall in Contemporary Beijing", and will inherit and carry forward the excellent traditional Chinese culture through exhibitions, research, food, tea and other formats in parallel, create a new scene of cultural relics activation and utilization, and create a "core check-in place for Peking Opera in the theater version". With the integration of light and shadow art and digital art, it creates an immersive exhibition experience and narrows the interaction with the audience. Combined with the unique elegant environment, history and culture of Huguang, to create a national style tea lounge, under the premise of retaining the original tea break function of the tea house, the use of walls and electronic display, set up the Huguang Guild Hall cultural context display area, reproduce the past and present life of Huguang, and highlight the profound cultural heritage of Huguang Guild Hall.
The lake dream has turned for a hundred years, and a thousand songs are sung around the pear orchard. Now, as long as we step into the elegant and quiet Huguang Guild Hall, we can enjoy the cultural exhibitions of the history of Huguang and the birthplace of Peking Opera, watch creative dramas such as immersion drama "Dream of the Lake" and "Night of the Xiqu Museum", experience the study of opera art, taste the new national style tea, feel the ancient rhyme and poetry of the collision of more than 200 years of heavy cultural context and contemporary aesthetics, and open a new life of Huguang opera aesthetics that "belongs only to you".
In the "Beijing Opera Museum" in the Huguang Guild Hall, the audience enjoyed the "live singing" of Peking Opera masters reproduced through digital technology. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang
The "Beijing Opera Museum" in the Huguang Guild Hall. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang
The precious historical archives exhibited in the "Beijing Opera Museum" in the Huguang Guild Hall. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang
Peking Opera stage props on display at the "Beijing Opera Museum" in the Huguang Guild Hall. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang
Exterior view of the renovated Huguang Guild Hall in Beijing. Photo by China Network reporter Zheng Liang