In recent years, efforts have been made to promote Chinese operas to the overseas countries. One of them is to write an English

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问题     In recent years, efforts have been made to promote Chinese operas to the overseas countries. One of them is to write an English script to the original Chinese tunes. Some opera experts think this is an absurd idea, just like singing the American Anthem in Chinese. What is your opinion? Should the Chinese operas be introduced to the world in their original and "perfect" forms? Or some adaptations should be made? Write an essay of about 400 words. You should supply an appropriate title for your essay.

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答案 Say No to Adaptations of Chinese Operas As a Chinese learning wave sweeps across the western part of the globe, we see an opportunity to export our native culture, among which are Chinese operas. While many advocate adaptations to cater for understanding of foreigners, I believe it’s a better idea to maintain the original taste and flavor of Chinese operas. To begin with, the combination of traditional Chinese melodies with English words is not pleasing to the ear, artistically or aesthetically. The opera is a performing art comprised of not only tunes but the native language in which words are sung. Apart from stage settings, costumes and movements of performers, the musical intonation of words also conveys significant messages. Singing the original Chinese tunes with English lyrics would be an absurd combination, neither fish nor fowl on stage, let alone precise understanding of the messages Chinese operas convey. It therefore can be said that such combination in itself already fails as an artistic form. Another important issue is that local Chinese operas presented with a tint of foreign color are running the risk of losing its local traits. As the saying goes, only when it belongs to the people can it be embraced by the world. When Chinese operas are stripped of certain local traits, what’s left is a distorted version of our culture, which might result in misinterpretations or cultural stereotypes. What, then, is the point of passing on such a cultural product if it does not speak for its land of origin? Music is a universal language without boundary that delivers an incisive and vivid description of emotions. When Italian operas were first introduced to Chinese audience, no adaptations were made to adjust to a non-Italian-speaking nation. And yet they have succeeded in taking our breath away. If you ask Dai Yuqiang, a renowned Chinese tenor, to give a performance of the famous song Nessun Dorma from the opera Turandot, chances are that he would sing it in Italian, not Chinese. Translation can somehow help viewers understand the meaning of the song, but it is the original language that could best represent its emotion. To conclude, the harder we try to get the world to know more about China, the more confident and assertive we should be about our valuable cultural heritage. Something is bound to be missing in the process of cultural communications, but the least we can do is to make sure that the essence doesn’t get lost in translation.

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