16 November 2015
On 1 November 2015, the performance delegation of STA’s Chinese Traditional Opera School finished its performance tour in Croatia and embarked on a 16-hour journey to Romania for exchange performances in the four cities of Deva, Sibiu, Brasov and Bucharest. The performances concluded in Bucharest, the capital of Romania on 9 November.
Deva Art High School is the first stop of the Romania tour. Deva Art High School and the superior body of its Confucius Class, i.e. Sibiu Confucius Institute attached great importance to the visit of our performance delegation. Before the performance, the delegation was invited for a tour of Deva Art High School during which both sides held an in-depth talk and explore the prospects of culture exchange. After the meeting, the representatives of both sides exchanged souvenirs in the warm and friendly atmosphere, followed by a group photo opportunity.
The Peking opera performance given by the delegation was staged in the afternoon of 3 November. The cultural club with a seating capacity of 500 people was a full house. Mr Fabius Kiszely, Deputy Commissioner from the Romania Central Government, Mr Petru Marginean, Mayor of Deva, Mr Song Shaofeng, Dean of Sibiu Confucius Institute, Mr Gheorghe Mihuz, Principal of Deva Art High School and Ms Maria Stefania, Proctor of General Inspectorate, Deva City, attended the performance.
In the early morning of 4 November, the performance delegation left for the second stop of the Romania tour, i.e. Lucia Blaga University, Sibiu. Sibiu is a famous cultural city in Europe with a history of more than 800 years. In 2007, Lucia Blaga University established Romania’s first ever Confucius Institute, i.e. Sibiu Confucius Institute, which was elected one of the Top 10 Confucius Institute globally in 2014. The students of Sibiu Confucius Institute presented wonderful Chinese culture performances such as the peacock dance, silk ribbon dance and Taiji Kungfu. Mr Hou Yongqiang, head of STA performance delegation, made a speech in which he introduced the origin of Peking opera and its position in the Chinese culture. The authentic Peking opera performance from Shanghai, China pushed the show to the climax and the 400 audiences were overwhelmingly fascinated.
On 6 November, the third performance was staged in the auditorium of the school hall at Transylvania University, Brasov. The performance was extremely well received and highly praised by the audience. The 550 permanent seats and more than 100 additional seats distributed in 300 degree layout were all taken, even the steps in the corridors were fully seated by the audience, and some audiences stood throughout the performance.
Bucharest University is the last stop of this Europe Tour organised by the National Han Ban. Bucharest is the capital and largest city of Romania. The performance was held in the Bucharest University Theatre. The excellent performance given by the students of STA Chinese Traditional Opera School to the accompaniment of the superb music played by the band gave rise to the warm applause from the audience once and again. A number of old overseas Chinese sat in the front raw and were so joyfully immersed in the national quintessence of the homeland, and that scene was very touching. That night, the Peking Opera Europe Tour successfully came to a close at the campus of Bucharest University.
