BUCHAREST, Romania—On its opening night in Bucharest on April 7, the Divine Performing Arts Chinese Spectacular played to a full house, the enthusiastic audience honoring the performers with a standing ovation and three curtain calls.
A broad section of Bucharest society turned out to see the unique and widely-acclaimed cultural show, which will play for two nights at the National Theatre.
However, according to Adrian Sturdza, the main organizer of the show and editor-in-chief of the Romania Epoch Times, interference by the Chinese embassy threatened to derail the Spectacular before it even made it onto the stage.
In the weeks preceding the opening, embassy officials tried to persuade Adrian Iorgulescu, the Minister of Culture, and the show's sponsors not to support the Spectacular.
They also approached theater management in person and pressured them not to hold the show.
"They went directly, a full delegation went there and made a huge fuss. Everyone knew from the director of the theater to the last cleaning lady – they all knew that the Chinese diplomats didn't like the show," said Sturdza.
But a contract had been signed, advertising paid for and tickets already sold. Theater management honored its contract and the show went on as planned.
Because it's typical for the Chinese embassies in cities around the world to attempt to stop the Spectacular and/or dissuade people from attending, Sturdza had warned theater management in advance.
"It's easy for Romanians to relate to that because the oldest ones lived under the communist regime and they know how it is. Everybody understands that the Chinese government is guilty of abuses. The news regarding the Tibet [protests] broke at the same time."
Embassy officials didn't get far in trying to get the sponsors to pull out either.
"We got a call from our sponsors saying that they've been here asking questions and making pressure and asking about contract details and so on. I can't name any names because that will put them under pressure. After all that nothing really happened, the Chinese embassy just tried to make a mockery of everything."
Iorgulescu also did not bow under pressure; in fact he sent a fax to Sturdza saying that the show should go ahead. The Chinese regime objects to the Spectacular because of some content depicting the unfortunate state of human rights in China; these pieces are used to portray traditional Chinese values.
When the Spectacular played in Sweden recently, the Chinese embassy also exerted pressure on politicians and the Chinese community not to attend the Spectacular. However, the attempt backfired and resulted in more people wanting to see the show.
"After the Swedish interference, I went directly to the theater management explaining: this is exactly what happens. I told him it's about freedom of speech, it's about the fact that it's very nice show and it has basically played in all the big theaters on this planet. It also talked about Falun Gong and freedom of belief in China which is stomped on," said Sturdza.
Almost everywhere the show has played on its 65-city international tour, letters have been received by a number of politicians, sponsors, and venues, urging them not to attend the Spectacular or express support.
"China is such a big country and puts a lot of pressure on a lot of people, but whether you yield to that pressure or not, that's up to you," said Sturdza.
Through the Spectacular, the New York-based Divine Performing Arts has been spearheading a renaissance of Chinese traditional culture that has drawn the attention and admiration of audiences around the world.
The Bucharest show marks the 40th in Europe, after a tour of 16 cities to date.
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.BestChineseShows.com
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete coverage please visit: en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
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