Growing appetite for art performance among Chinese youths

Musicians perform in the Shaanxi Opera House in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, July 21, 2023.(Shaanxi Opera House/Handout via Xinhua)

After hectic weekdays, more and more Chinese youths are apt to spend a leisurely weekend by enjoying operas, dramas, and concerts in theaters. The new craze drives the robust recovery of China's theater consumption.

According to the data released by the China Association of Performing Arts (CAPA), a total of 31,050 commercial performances were staged in China during the 5-day Labor Day holiday of 2023, up 49.1 percent from the same period of 2019 before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Operas, concerts, children's plays, and dance performances received a warm welcome from the younger generation in the post-pandemic era.

On July 21, famous artists from China, Italy, and France performed arias from classical musical repertories, such as "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Romeo and Juliet," in the Shaanxi Opera House in the northwest Chinese historic city of Xi'an, setting off jubilation among more than 1,000 audiences.

Yang Tian, a 28-year-old girl from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, enjoyed many exhilarating moments with her friend at the musical concert.

"The show boasts an all-star cast. It combines solo, duet, chorus, and symphony. The human voice in the musicals goes straight to the hearts of the audience and fully expresses the sentiments of characters," said Yang.

An annual report from CAPA shows that people aged 18 to 34 years old contributed a dominant part of consumption to the performing art market in 2022, accounting for over 76 percent of the audience for three consecutive years.

Yang is one of a growing cohort in China that travels to other cities only to watch a show. She used to believe that operas and concerts were so lofty that they were out of reach for amateurs, but now she is a frequent visitor to theaters.

"Nowadays, Chinese youths are getting more open-minded, and we are willing to explore new spheres. We are surprised to find that many excellent plays from home and abroad are not bound by conventions," said Yang, who added that the lower prices and abundant performances have boosted a new leisure choice for young people.

To cater to the growing demand for better performance and appeal to more young people, Chinese theaters have stepped up efforts to adapt classical operas and create new plays.

Last year, a poetic dance called the Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting topped the national box office of the performing art market. Inspired by an ancient painting masterpiece named A Panorama of Mountains and Rivers from the Song Dynasty (960-1279), it brought to life the traditional Chinese aesthetic charm in a vivid way.

Zhu Yizhang, an opera producer with the Shaanxi Opera House, said its average attendance reached 77.38 percent from March to June.

"In May, we cooperated with the China National Opera House to perform 'La Traviata' and over 2,000 tickets were sold out within 30 minutes," said Zhu, adding that he felt the enthusiasm of the young audience deeply from the faster-than-expected recovery.

After China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced in March that it would resume accepting applications for commercial performances involving troupes from overseas, many international musical groups have returned to Chinese stages.

It was the second time the Italian opera singer Chiara Di Bari performed on the stage in China.

"I am quite moved to perform in China after 17 years and see that the theater was once again packed with opera lovers," she said.

She was surprised by the enhanced aesthetic appreciation of the young audience. "They have a sensitive reading of singing and acting with good taste in general. Performing for them was a pleasure."

In Zhu's view, frequent exchanges between Chinese and foreign artists proved the enormous potential of the Chinese performing art market.

"For the younger generation, theaters have evolved into one of the favorite resorts for leisure and recreation. I am quite bullish on the rosy prospects of the performing art market," noted Zhu.