The art of Kunqu opera has attained a high level of aesthetic achievement.
In 2001, UNESCO has declared Kunqu to be
a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
Therefore, we feel that this operatic genre deserves
to be promoted world-wide. And to that end we
designed this course: <i>The Beauty of Kunqu Opera.</i>
First, literary aesthetics.
The literary aesthetics of Kunqu is based on the richness of its scripts.
These dramatic scripts are made up of sequences of poetry composed according to established
schemata called <i>qupai</i>, or “tune titles”.
With the poetry of luminaries such as Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) and Hong Sheng (1645-1704),
Kunqu plays are not only classics of drama,
but also classics of literature.
Second, musical aesthetics.
The chief accompanying instrument for Kunqu singing
is the transverse bamboo flute. This instrument possesses
the flowing lyrical beauty of southern Chinese culture.
Third, very important, the aesthetics of dance.
Kunqu has a very strictly formulaic style of song and dance.
As we say: “no song without the dance.”
Every phrase that is sung is accompanied by rigorously choreographed movement
Kunqu is the kind of art that “expresses the deepest emotion with the most beautiful form”.