A Tibetan image of Turandot compared with a poster of western opera version
There have been many adaptions of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot. Now it is a Tibetan woman to give the Italian composer a new stun. Soinam Chodron has put the western classic onto the stage of Tibetan Opera, representing the ancient oriental story in an art form that is closer to the place where it is supposed to have happened.
The fictional legend is about how Tartary Prince Calaf, using his wisdom and passion, wins heart of Chinese Princess Turandot, who has turned against all men to avenge a female ancestor.
Soinam's adaption focuses on the love triangle between Turandot, Calaf and his servant Liu'er, who has a secret crush on the prince. Liu'er kills herself to protect the prince. Soinam's work is supported by the regional government's funding for young people's innovative projects.
At the beginning, Soinam planned to adapt the western classic into a mix of Tibetan Opera and Qinqiang, a folk opera in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, but she finally quit the experiment, worrying that it might end in neither fish nor fowl.
Soinam was admitted into the regional Tibetan Opera troupe in Lhasa at the age of 12. Then she spent three years learning dancing in Chengdu, a city in neighboring Sichuan Province, and another three years studying Tibetan Opera performance in Tibet University.
Now the 27-year-old performer is learning directing at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. She will become one of the first Tibetan Opera performers with a bachelor's degree when she graduates.
The adaption is an exploration of new ways for inheritance and development of Tibetan Opera, an art form that has had a history of more than 600 years, but is losing its audience in modern times, according to Palden Wangchug, head of the troupe.
During centuries of evolution, Tibetan Opera has been observing a set of strict rules, such as a mask dance at the opening and the indispensable role of fairies. Turandot also follows the rules.
The adaption has been staged in Lhasa, regional capital of Tibet, and it is also scheduled on the list of a Beijing theater. (Xinhua photos by Jigme Dorje)
