The man taking Yuju Opera to audiences across the world

Ten winners of the Plum Blossom Award, China’s highest theatrical honor, gathered in Shanghai from May 21 to last Wednesday to showcase their masterpieces to industry professionals from around the world.

Among them was Li Shujian, a veteran of Yuju — a folk opera originating from Central China’s Henan province. On May 27 and 28, Li and the Henan No 2 Yuju Opera Theater staged two performances of Cheng Ying Rescues the Orphan at Wanping Theater. Based on Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) playwright Ji Junxiang’s classic, the opera is often dubbed “China’s Hamlet“, as it highlights themes of sacrifice and loyalty that resonate across cultures.

Commenting on the production’s raw power, Guillaume Soulard, director of France’s Le Grand Angle theater, said, “The story is so strong that five minutes after the show, you are still in it … It becomes part of your life.”

Dagmar Bednarikova, a member of the Presidium of Czech ITI (International Theater Institute) Centre, said she would really recommend the show to her friends. She added, “Because it is original …we do not see it in Europe very often, so it’s great to be able to come to China to see it here.”

Han Jihua, a Chinese opera enthusiast and middle school teacher from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, took the high-speed train to Shanghai for the opera. Li is his favorite artist, Han told China Daily on the opening night.

“He is particularly good at integrating singing with his spoken lines. He masterfully blends his singing with clear narrative delivery and as such has a strong emotional impact. His powerful performance is widely beloved among folk opera lovers all over the country, and he is especially admired for his portrayal of tragic heroes,” he said.

With a history of just 300 years, Yuju Opera is relatively new compared to Peking Opera or Kunqu Opera. Yet, Li explained, it is one of China’s most widespread local operas, boasting 163 professional troupes and over 2,000 private ones. In rural Henan, Li recalled performing for crowds exceeding 50,000. “People bring their own stools and packed lunches,” he told China Daily. In one scene, as Li portrays an elderly beggar walking through the crowd, “people put food and even cash in my basket. That is how they express their love”.

Now 64 and a troupe leader for 34 years, Li has taken this regional art form global. Since its premiere in 2002, Cheng Ying Rescues the Orphan, with scripts by Chen Yongquan, has been performed over 2,100 times and adapted into more than 20 other folk opera styles. It has toured 30 countries, from Broadway to the Chinese-built cruise ship Adora Magic City.

Taking a dialect-based opera internationally posed challenges. During a 2006 tour of Italy, poor translations led to comical errors, such as rendering “my wife” as “my old woman”. To solve this, Li enlisted Wang Shaojun, director of the Performance Department at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, to refine the scripts. Today, the opera features subtitles in seven languages.

To attract younger audiences, Li has also embraced the digital age. A pioneer on Douyin (the Chinese TikTok), he once earned 160,000 yuan ($22,000) from a single three-hour livestream. “He who does not embrace the internet will be abandoned by the times,” he said.