Final Project Artist Interview

Final Project: Artist Interview

     The artist, who I interviewed, is a famous Beijing opera actress, and her name is Wu, Qiu. Right now she is working as a cashier in a salon store, but the second job still is a Beijing Opera actress performing for celebrating some big traditional Chinese festivals in New York. As far as we know, Beijing opera is the quintessence of China, and its development of history would be tracked back thousands years in China.

     In the old days, only the Chinese would be interested in watching the Beijing Opera because stories exulting communist China were often featured.

     But lately, more and more Americans have begun to appreciate this art form because of its unique characteristics. Beijing Opera, which is considered a national legacy, provides audiences with a musical, visual as well as cultural treat thanks to its use of gestures and customs.

     Being a Beijing Opera is not an easy thing. As Wu told to me, she attended Dalian Institute of the Arts when she was 7-years-old. In that school, she had received tough and rigorous training for six years, when 14-years-old she became a real Beijing Opera actress who owns the ability to perform in an opening opera stage. In China, there is a saying that every opera actor who performs for one minute needs training 10 years. Though I asked her why she would like to choose being an opera actress, she said that her father used to be a successful Beijing Opera director in Dalian, which is a big city of China, she grew up with her father’s influence and loved opera culture deeply.

     One of the most successful operas Wu played as the first female, which was “Madam White Snake”. And that performance helped her won the gold medal in Rose Award, being considered the most famous opera event of Liaoning Province. Now Wu does not perform as much as before she was in China, Wu said that, though in New York City there are not much people could understand the charm of Beijing Opera, she hopes her amazing performance would own more and more appreciation in New York City.