Japanese Hosho Theatre to perform in Baku

Hosho Theatre School will present "No Opera" at the Heydar Aliyev Centre on February 1.

Officials from Azerbaijan and Japan, as well as cultural and artistic figures, will attend the event, Azernews reports.

With a history spanning more than 700 years, Noh theatre is one of the oldest forms of classical Japanese performing arts. Based on works of fiction and comic scenes, Noh theatre combines costume dancing with the classical attributes of Japanese theatre.

Having gained worldwide fame due to its high level of performance, the art is included in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2008).

"Nôgaku theatre had its heyday in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries but actually originated in the eighth century, when the Sangaku was transmitted from China to Japan. At the time, the term Sangaku referred to various types of performances featuring acrobats, songs, and dance, as well as comic sketches. Its subsequent adaptation to Japanese society led to its assimilation of other traditional art forms. Today, Nôgaku is the principal form of Japanese theatre and has influenced puppet theatre as well as Kabuki," said the UNESCO website.

"Nôgaku encompasses two types of theatre: Noh and Kyôgen, which are performed in the same space. The stage projects into the audience and is linked by a walkway to a “hall of mirrors” backstage. In Noh, emotions are represented by stylised conventional gestures. The hero is often a supernatural being who takes on human form to narrate a story."