Why should modern Chinese audiences care about an early-20th-century opera star?
CHEN: This has been a very special year for China. We had a very successful Olympics, we received many glories, but at the same time there were natural disasters where many people lost their lives. China needs to decide which direction the country will take; that’s probably why people want to look back and see what Mei Lanfang and others did for the country. Mei Lanfang was the first one to let Western audiences understand Chinese culture. He traveled to New York and did his show at the 49th Street Theatre, and he was very successful. He became a celebrity and he showed what it is to be Chinese. Are you concerned about comparisons between ” Forever Enthralled ” and ” Farewell My Concubine, ” which is considered an international classic? I am very interested in people who live in the Beijing opera world. If you can understand them, you can understand Chinese society better. This is why I wanted to do Beijing opera again. The difference is “Farewell My Concubine” is fiction. Mei Lanfang
