CULTURAL CONTACTS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA IN THE FIELD OF MUSIC AND DRAMA THEATER (50s of the XXth century)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the cultural cooperation between the USSR and the People's Republic of China in the field of musical theater. The Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance between these two countries, signed in Moscow on February 14, 1950, became a starting point in the development of cultural contacts. The most productive period was from 1949 to early 1960s. An important marker of the development of Soviet-Chinese cultural relations was the tour of theater troupes from both countries to the Soviet Union and the Celestial Empire. The Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Musical Theater team visited China in 1954, and later the artists of the Shaoxing Opera and the Shanghai Theater of Beijing Musical Drama demonstrated their art in Russian cities. The two countries' directors showed mutual interest in the classical opera art of their counterparts: in Beijing and Tianjin P. I. Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" and "The Queen of Spades" were performed by Chinese singers, while in Russian cities the traditional Chinese theatre plays "The Spilled Cup" and "The Grey-Haired Girl" were staged by Russian artists.