Tibetan Opera troupe brings Epic of King Gesar to Beijing

Yel Bumen Tibetan Opera Troupe performed a Tibetan opera piece based on The Epic of King Gesar at Tianqiao Performing Arts Center in Beijing on Jan 18.

The Epic of King Gesar has been passed down orally through singers and storytellers in Tibet. The legend of King Gesar can be traced back to the 11th century. It tells how the king, sent by god, banishes demons, helps the weak and unifies tribes.

The Epic of King Gesar was inscribed on the UNESCO list of world intangible cultural heritage in 2009.

Yel Bumen Tibetan Opera Troupe was founded in 2010 by Samdrop Lhom whose father Thalor is a national inheritor of Tibetan Opera. The troupe has nearly 50 performers who tour around Tibet and hold charity performances for the local people, making great efforts on preserving and promoting Tibetan Opera, which is known as a living embodiment of traditional culture in Tibet.

Tibetan Opera, a combination of various art forms such as singing, dancing, and storytelling, was listed as a national intangible culture heritage in 2006 and put on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's list of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in 2009.

The troupe's performance in the capital is a part of the ongoing 22nd Meet in Beijing International Arts Festival, one of the largest annual art events in Beijing.