On a sunny September evening, an audience made up of Chinese and Dutch spectators filled up the enormous venue of Zuiderstrandtheater in The Hague’s Scheveningen.
The public gathered to see the classic Chinese opera Kunqu that was performed by one of the top opera artists from China, the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre which was invited to The Hague by the embassy of China in The Netherlands. The theatre company has previously performed the opera in the UK, USA, Italy, as well as Greece, and has received great reviews in all countries.
His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Hong Xu was the host to the Chinese Kunqu Opera Peony Pavilion performance (also called Kunqu opera) on the night of September 19th.
H.E. Ambassador’s guest of honor was the Mistress of the Robes, Baroness Bibi van Zuylen van Nijevelt, who was accompanied by her husband and His Excellency in the VIP salon of the Zuiderstrandtheater from which they enjoyed the spectacular evening show.
The performance is one of the oldest surviving types of traditional opera in China’s culture, and the team of professionals for this theatre spectacle travelled all the way from China to present the art of Kunqu in The Netherlands.
While the show itself was in Mandarin, the Dutch audience was enabled to follow the plot in English language that was displayed on two screens at the side. The Kunqu opera, which traditionally lasts nine hours, was shortened to a two-hour performance that perfectly filled the evening.
The evening show included not only a 20 minutes trial performance by the Chinese Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre, but also an act by the Dutch modern dance company Groundbreakers.
This served as the showcase of the connection and relationship between these two countries. What is more, the show stressed the importance of the cultural exchange between China and The Netherlands, as the acts included the aspects and traditional values of both cultures, such as family, love, and respect.
