TUNIS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- As the last rays of sunlight faded over the ancient theatre of Carthage, night settled in and the summer heat began to ease. Then, the resonant strains of Peking Opera rang out, and the Monkey King, an iconic figure in Peking Opera, appeared in a golden robe, moving in perfect sync with the drumbeats. His entrance unleashed a roar of applause that swept through the crowd.
On Tuesday evening, Peking Opera performers from China's National Peking Opera Company took the stage during the "Folklores of the World" segment of the 60th Carthage International Festival in Tunisia.
More than 20 performers presented Havoc in the Heavenly Kingdom, a classic Peking Opera work, captivating a Tunisian audience eager to experience the richness of traditional Chinese art.
The pounding drums and soaring vocals deeply resonated with Wissal Khlifi, a Chinese-language enthusiast. When the Monkey King led his "monkey children" onto the stage to battle the celestial army, the theater erupted in cheers and applause. Khlifi let out an excited cry and immediately pulled out her phone to capture the dazzling spectacle.
"I've seen face-changing and acrobatics before," she said, "but this was my first time watching Peking Opera. The range of styles on display really speaks to the depth and richness of Chinese culture."
During the half-hour performance, Meher Rabeh barely lowered his camera. "The grandeur of the performances was incredibly infectious. I simply couldn't stop recording," he said.
Compared to other folk performances at the event, what stood out most about the Peking Opera was its interplay of motion and stillness, Rabeh added. "It was at once freewheeling and meticulously controlled. One moment, the performers were locked in fierce combat; the next, they froze in perfect stillness. The striking contrast between movement and silence, sound and stillness, was stunning."
Among the "monkey children" onstage were five Tunisian practitioners of Chinese martial arts. One of them, 17-year-old Zayneb Mannai, has been training for 13 years and is now a member of the Tunisian Federation of Wushu Kung-Fu. She has travelled to China twice for martial arts competitions.
"When I was four, I saw my brother practicing and was fascinated by the moves, so I started training too," she recalled.
In full makeup and costume, Mannai moved with a remarkably lifelike monkey. "Learning the choreography and stage positioning wasn't easy at first," she said, "but performing alongside Peking Opera artists was an incredible thrill for me and my friends."
Hend Mokrani, director of the 60th Carthage International Festival, told Xinhua that while other international acts were given around 10 minutes each, the Peking Opera performance was given a special 30-minute slot to open the show.
"We wanted to give the audience enough time to follow the story, discover a different form of theater, and experience the richness of Chinese culture," Mokrani said.
She also praised the artistic expressiveness and technical mastery of Chinese opera. "The audience's enthusiastic response says everything about their appreciation for Peking Opera. I hope to see more performances like this in Tunisia in the future, they're a wonderful bridge for cultural exchange between our two countries."
Backstage after the show, Tian Lei, vice president of China's National Peking Opera Company, was still buzzing with excitement.
"Onstage, we were met with thunderous applause and warm appreciation. Offstage, I saw children eagerly applying makeup and trying out Peking Opera movements themselves," he said.
The company has prepared three classic productions for this tour. Following its performance in Tunis, the troupe will travel to Sousse and Kairouan, where it will stage shows from Aug. 12 to 14, Tian added. ■
