"The beauty of Peking Opera lies with how the performers sing, not with how they act out the plots," renowned scholar Ji Xianlin wrote in his preface to The Intellectual Request Into Peking Opera. "Senior opera lovers always listen to, instead of seeing, a piece of opera, because they are too familiar to be interested in the plots, which usually came from classical historical novels such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Within the Intellectual Request Into Peking Opera, Xu Chengbei, a seasoned observer and scholar in the culture of Peking Opera, told the history of Peking Opera and anecdotes of Peking Opera performers.

Qi Rushan, a playwright and scholar who helped Mei Lanfang prepare for his U.S. performance, once summarized Peking Opera's characteristics, "Every sound is sung, every move is danced, no realistic interpretation is allowed and no real-life apparatus or tools are allowed on the stage."

The Peking Opera stage uses little more than a table or some chairs, but with different arrangements they can serve different purposes. Also, the opera enjoys flexibility of stage arrangements in terms of time and space. Therefore, imagination and visualization are required on the part of the audience.

When the curtain rises there is no setting or time until the first actor appears, and elements are made clear through his monologues, singing and gestures. It is again up to the audience to visualize the scenes like walking along a path in the garden or reading a letter in a study.

Today, some innovations have been made in stage settings and props. Modern opera techniques, especially in setting and stage design, enhance the theatrical effects of the performance, as was the case of Red Cliff, a big-budget blockbuster that is rare on Peking Opera stages.

Red Cliff director Zhang Jigang, who was deputy chief director of the Beijing Olympic Games' opening and closing ceremonies, removed the traditional "one table and two chairs" setting for a more sophisticated stage design. He said that he aimed at creating distinguished visual and artistic effects that still appeal to traditional opera lovers. In the scene Borrowing Arrows by Scarecrow-Soldiers on Boats, Zhang utilizes the entire stage and high-tech lighting to simulate 1,000 arrows in flight.

The first three seasons have already proved its success. In an online opinion poll at sina.com, 83.3 percent of the respondents said Red Cliff is quite different from traditional Peking Opera and made their Peking Opera experience more enjoyable. About 85.7 percent said Peking Opera could still win a large audience by integrating new elements into the art. Nearly 70 percent of the respondents were younger than 30 years old.

Where rejuvenation starts

Still, observers questioned the effects of replacing the "one table and two chairs" setting with dazzling high-tech lighting because Peking Opera is an art of master performers.

According to drama critic Liao Ben, China has a rich repertoire of 10,000 pieces, half of which are new, adapted or model operas, because artists have never stopped innovating during the opera's evolution.

But any innovation should not deviate from its essential aesthetics, Liao said.

The performer "wears" the settings and is the center on a traditional stage, which is quite different from Western opera's stage design which focuses on real setting and props, said Xu.

The setting innovations in Red Cliff are typical of moviemaking, which sometimes confine performers to separate performing spaces and even dwarf their performance, Xu said.

The changing environment has contributed to drastic changes in Peking Opera. Opera playwrights, more or little influenced by screenwriters, are now producing plays of quicker pace and compact structure featuring stronger characters; performers lack the time and patience to refine their skills and performances; and the shrinking audience and available venues also discourage them, Liao said.

The opera will gain little ground and recognition if the art, which has the stage as its lifeline, is only ceremonially displayed like antiques, Liao said.

Xu compared the relationship between the opera and the city to that between fruit and a well-painted plate. "Only when the plate is properly designed can it load the fruits," he said.

He said large theaters and blockbuster performances are not enough for the opera to survive because it will still belong to a devoted niche audience. He advocated a network of opera courtyards for the opera to "regain its original function of entertaining at ceremonies, such as weddings and funerals, in a more healthy and lively way."

"The money for building one large theater may work well for 10 small, casual and primitive courtyards," he said.

Also he advocated that masters as well as amateurs should be allowed to play with Peking Opera for unexpected effects of interactions. "Peking Opera will survive when ordinary people become interested in it and afford having fun with it," he said.