In commemoration of the second anniversary of the death of Prof. Yu Ta-kang, Ya Yin Hsiao Chi, or Graceful Sound Ensemble, formed by Kuo Hsiao-chung to revive classical Chinese opera, held its debut at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on May 17 and 18. The program included a Peiping opera, "Legend of the White Snake," and two kun chu plays-- "Lin Chun Escapes at Night" and Szu Fan, or "Thinking of Worldly Things."

These performances were notable for their incorporation of bold innovations to the script, music, costumes, dancing and sets of traditional works. Kuo emphasized improvements to construction, continuity and harmony of the characters' psychological development, ingenious combination of Chinese and Western stage arts, and the search for a new direction for Chinese opera.

Kuo, a conscientious and optimistic perfectionist, has devoted her life to the preservation of classical Chinese theatrical arts for the past 20 years. Encouraged by Prof. Yu, who conducted far-reaching research into traditional Chinese plays, Kuo gradually formed the idea of organizing a Chinese opera troupe to attract young people to work together to interpret this classical art to audiences of all ages. As a result, Ya Yin Hsiao Chi was established on March 29 this year with 14 members, both professional and amateur, having an average age of 28.

Kuo said that although Peiping opera is unique in the performing arts, the traditional method of presentation is somewhat dated. For instance, the raucous sound of drums and gongs and the stage sets were originally designed for teahouse performance. Younger people today, therefore, find it difficult to relate to and appreciate the beauty of the art.

As a first step, Kuo abridged the romance between a white snake beauty and a young man Hsu Hsien in the Legend of the White Snake from 24 scenes to 10. The retained portions were: Borrowing an umbrella during a lake tour, marriage ties, Fahai in the temple, metamorphosis after drinking wine, guarding the mountain, stealing immortal grass, Chinshan Temple, broken bridge, giving birth and sealing the bowl. The tragedy ends with the Monk Fahai's imprisonment of the white snake in the Lai Fung Tower, and the couple are separated forever.

In her version, Kuo boldly exchanged the traditional loose robes of the white snake for a more shapely classical dress which emphasized the charm and slenderness of the snake. The loose robes are not worn by the white snake until the scene in "broken bridge," when she has gone through all kinds of human trials. To improve the set, a 20 by 10 meter screen was designed and constructed by Chang Ta-chien, one of the most famous Chinese painters, at a cost of about NT$600,000 or US$17,000. The decorations on the screen, reproduced from the caves at Tunhwang, added a poetic touch to the set.

Instead of the traditional fixed lighting, Nieh Kuan-yien, a well-known stage designer in Taiwan, used variegated lighting to fit in with the atmosphere of the plot and to add splendor to the abstract setting. He used a translucent top light, side light and lights from all angles to create a three-dimensional effect for the stage. He also constantly shifted light intensity to reflect the characters' psychological development. This significant change introduced a western theatrical style to the Peiping opera and thus enlivened the normally unchanged stages of ancient China.