Chongqing Sichuanese Opera House will present the Sichuanese opera “Jinzi” adapted from Cao Yu’s play “The Wilderness” at the Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center.

    “The Wilderness” (1937), influenced by contemporary playwright Eugene O’Neill’s expressionist works, relates a succession of murders and stories of revenge set in a Chinese village.

    It is regarded as the most complicated and controversial work by Cao, China’s greatest 20th-century playwright, for its supernatural and fantastical elements. With expressionism, Cao externalizes the human subconscious and inner conflicts on the stage.

    Escaped convict Qiu Hu secretly returns to his home village, planning to take revenge upon the local tyrant who destroyed his family and life. Qiu finds that the tyrant, Jiao, is dead and his wife has become blind. Daxing, the sheepish son of Jiao, who was Qiu’s childhood friend, has married Qiu’s lover Jinzi.

    A wild love re-ignites between Qiu and Jinzi. Meanwhile, there’s a brutal murder plot, the desperate inner struggle between friendship and revenge, and Jiao’s despairing blind mother. The factors combine to create a complex plot.

    In “Jinzi,” the title character is played by Sichuanese opera master Shen Tiemei, head of Chongqing Sichuanese Opera House. She said the Sichuanese opera has a 300-year history but most people only know its stunts, like face-changing, sword-hiding and fire-spitting. Shen said she hoped the audience could appreciate the vocal part of the traditional art.

    “Overall, the Sichuanese opera, as an art form, is well known for its singing, which has five singing styles originating from different areas,” said Shen, who studied Beijing opera when she was a child. Shen also studied Western opera and Chinese folk singing styles, which makes her articulation unique when performing Sichuanese opera.

    She said, “Today innovations are called for in traditional art forms but I think inheriting goes before innovating. The opera ‘Jinzi’ is a great rendition of the tradition.”

    Time: 8 p.m., July 23-24

    Tickets: 99-380 yuan

    Reservation: 400-185-8666

    Venue: Nanshan Cultural and Sports Center, 2106 Nanshan Boulevard, Nanshan District (南山区南山大道2106号南山文体中心)

    Metro: Luobao Line, Taoyuan Station (桃园站), Exit B(Cao Zhen)