Ghaffar Pourazar gave up his career in computer animation in Britain to pursue his passion for Peking Opera. Photo: Courtesy of Ghaffar Pourazar

Gliding elegantly through the air in intricate, colorful costumes, Ghaffar Pourazar was instantly fascinated by the graceful movements that characterize Peking Opera when he first saw it performed in London in 1993. With a masters in computer animation, Pourazar was entranced by performers' ability to seemingly defy gravity onstage in a display that fused centuries of Chinese culture with seamless, vivid choreography. He made the decision to move to China 18 years ago to learn the magic of Peking Opera that he said gives people "the power to fly." After years of intense training in the spiritual home of Peking Opera, the 50-year-old Briton of Iranian Azeri descent is today its proud foreigner envoy. "Peking Opera is the result of hundreds of years of perfection passed down to us," he said, explaining his mission to revitalize the art form among younger audiences and promote it globally.

On most mornings atop of a hill at Taoranting Park in south Beijing, you can hear the chorus of Peking Opera where Pourazar joins players of the jinghu (traditional Chinese bowed instrument), seasoned singers and piaoyu (amateur singers) in bellowing out traditional ballads to warm up their vocal chords.

"Many of these old men are among the few living Peking Opera masters. This art form is embodied in them, but it's fading partly because they appear to be the last generation," he lamented. Peking Opera suffered two major blows throughout its history of more than 200 years. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) it was denounced as "bourgeois" and "feudalistic," suffering a decade-long hiatus. More recently, it has struggled with the rise of artistic commercialization. "People care more about making money now. They prefer modern entertainment," said Pourazar, adding that only a few dozen among thousands of Peking Opera productions are regularly staged.

'Magic' of Peking Opera

Pourazar's most popular character is Sun Wukong, the Monkey King protagonist from the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West. Bringing the character to life involves painting his face in stark black, white and red. "Heaven, my father! Earth, my mother! This monkey lives to the end of time," he chants onstage in English, before embarking on a colorful, energetic display of twirling, jumping, spear tossing and singing. "Voices, makeup and costumes change depending on the role. They can be laosheng (old man) or xiaosheng (young man) among many others," he explained. An intricate affair of lyrics and movement soaked in cultural references, Pourazar sees magic that comes alive in Peking Opera that most foreigners struggle to perceive. "This art form is a time capsule of Chinese culture, history, mythology, poetry, literature, fine arts and performance," he said.

"It's so rich. You have to be patient and loving enough to get into it, learn it and come to understand it."

Broadway musicals and Commedia dell'arte (a form of Italian comic theater characterized by masked role types) are the closest Western equivalents to Peking Opera, according to Pourazar. He has even fused Western arts into Peking Opera, having produced a bilingual version of The Monkey King and adapted Shakespeare's classic play A Midsummer Night's Dream. He said such cultural fusions onstage can make Peking Opera captivate younger audiences. "Creating a 'new' Peking Opera would be like creating a new Mozart piece - it's impossible," he said. "But crossover experiments with Broadway musicals, pop, rap, rock and jazz can renew interest in preserving old operas without the risk of destroying their traditional form."

No turning back

"I had tears in my eyes," Pourazar recalled of the summer evening in 1993 when he first saw a Peking Opera performance by the Beijing Youth troupe at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

"People wearing those colorful clothes had such power and agility, they were like angels. They could sing, dance, do acrobatics and fight on stage. I came to China to find out what kind of training could give people such power."

The performance struck a lasting chord with Pourazar, who has a passion for the arts. At the age of 32, he left his job as a teacher of computer animation and drama at the British School for Performing Arts and Technology in London to join the Beijing Youth troupe on its UK tour. Three months later he arrived in Beijing, where he enrolled at a Peking Opera school.

Over the next five years, Pourazar underwent an intense training regime alongside students half his size and age. Training was 10 hours daily and focused on acrobatics, choreography and makeup.

"During the first two years I was continuously sick and I'd start most classes with a fever," he said, recalling how teachers would make him stretch his legs until they could touch his head.
"Beijing was a different city 18 years ago. I wasn't used to the food, weather, people or intensive training that most students start at the age of seven or eight. But I'd given up so much, and I couldn't stop or go back."

Foreign ambassador

"It takes a lifetime to master, but the pleasure of learning Peking Opera outweighs everything else," said Pourazar, whose unwavering commitment to the art form initially aroused suspicion among purists. "They felt like I came to China to steal it. Once, a teacher asked me why I was enduring the training. I told him I'd love to learn these movements and record them through computer technology. He replied that he didn't want me doing such things in China."

Beneath the colorful makeup and costumes, Pourazar is often mistaken as Chinese onstage.
He has founded the International Center for Peking Opera and leads the International Monkey King Troupe, where he acts alongside with one of the only foreign women in the craft, his Japanese girlfriend and performer Morimura Chie.

Currently living between Beijing and California, Pourazar has created works by commission and directed Peking Opera tours in the US, Europe and Asia introducing the art form to audiences in countries as far away as Iran.

Pourazar performs at the Beijing Opera Autumn River show at 2 pm on Saturday, December 10 at the Mei Lanfang Theater. He will also deliver his lecture titled Beijing Opera Demystified and demonstrate the craft at Huguang Traditional Opera House at 9 am on Friday, December 16.

For more visit: www.beijingopera.info

Ghaffar Pourazar gave up his career in computer animation in Britain to pursue his passion for Peking Opera. Photo: Courtesy of Ghaffar Pourazar