Published by: World Tibet Network News Friday, November 28, 1997

"Tibet opera surprises, intrigues-and entertains"

Plain Dealer - Cleveland Ohio paper

With the United States reportedly experiencing a surge of interest in Buddhism, Tibet and its exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, it should be no surprise that the Tibetan Dance and Opera Company drew a sizable audience to its concert Friday night at the Cleveland Museum of Art's Gartner Auditorium.

What does surprise a bit is the dedication with which that audience watched the three-hour presentation of " Sukyi Nima," a traditional Tibetan opera whose ritualized movement, ethereal, chromatic singing and emotional impassivity offered subtler and much more repetitive entertainment than Americans are generally wont to tolerate.

Even the performers seemed amazed at the reception they got; at show's end, company cofounder Tashi Dhondup laughingly thanked the audience for its patience. Yet Dhondup and his troupe deserved the attention they received, for their art form is not just intriguingly different to American eyes--it's also colorful, technically demanding and anthropologically fascinating.

In fact , what proves to be one of Tibetan opera's most arresting qualities is its similarity to that art of other Asia-based culture including, most strikingly, Native American. From the chant styles to the hopping, whirling, high-kneed circle dances to certain types of headdresses worn, "Sukyi Nima" recalls American Indian culture with an impact that makes the viewer feel as if he's discovered a missing link in the connection between continents.

Though "Sukyi Nima" was long by U.S. standards, the Tibetan Dance and Opera Company's presentation was actually a condensed version. Real Tibetan opera is an all-day affair, taking place outdoors, in a festival atmosphere that has audiences picnicking and drinking throughout the performance.

This company, whose Tibetan name is Chaksam-pa, is made up of artists, trained by the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) in Dharamsala, India, who are currently working in North America. Their talents are, without exception, remarkable, especially in song.

If the opera's vivid silk and brocade costumes resemble those of China and Southeast Asia. And if its stylized arm movements and religious themes evoke the classical dance of India, Bharatha Natyam, its strange, beautiful a cappella singing combines elements of all these cultures, plus Bulgarian. Composed of otherworldly, ululating wails, enriched by chromatic harmonies, rapid-patter text, and microtonic, unbelievably fast vibrato, it even resembles the whirring of cicada. The artists' gift for pitch is uncanny.

All these elements were used Friday to tell the story of a girl, born to a hermit and a wild deer, who is destined to marry a king, but who goes through many trials and renewed devotion to religion before being restored to her rightful place.

It's a story full of magic, and of human feelings, including humor; scenes of banter between peasant-call characters were rendered in comic mix of Tibetan, English slang (Welcome to Cleveland, man!), beer drinking and Clinton jokes, to reflect the relaxed sections of topical humor that traditionally break up Tibetan opera's retrained formality.

The joking around may have startled viewers who had come to the museum in a mood to respectful seriousness to appreciate the religious are of another people. But if offered some perspective as well as some laughs: If Tibetans can retain their senses of humor for almost 40 years, in spite of China's takeover of their nation and its suppression of their native ways, their culture will surely never die.