OPERA

Modern Chinese Opera, however, is now set in a box-type stage, and a director system, stage design, and professional lighting are gradually being introduced. These new features serve to enrich the performance and viewing experience without violating the traditional core of the opera.

Many contemporary opera groups attract audiences through writing of new librettos, flexible incorporation of Western theatrical concepts and functions, and experimentation with new performance techniques. Opera groups are trying to attract more young intellectuals to Peking Opera performances. An impressive new experiment has combined Western drama with traditional Chinese Peking Opera. Director Wu Hsing-kuo produced a highly innovative and successful adaption of Shakespeare's Macbeth into a modern Peking Opera. Rather than forsaking tradition, this type of experiment is an intermediary step that helps to make traditional Chinese Opera more accessible to modern audiences.