Contemporary group reviving Bali's operatic tradition

Contemporary group reviving Bali's operatic tradition

By Kadek Suartaya

BALI (JP): An ancient form of Balinese theater, Arja, seems to
have recovered from its unconsciousness and regained the glory it
held from the 1950s to the 1970s.

This is judging from the performance on the evening of May 16
at Banjar Kayumas in the heart of Bali's capital of Denpasar.
Some 1,500 enthusiastic spectators watched the Balinese opera,
which had been largely forgotten or ignored over the past 20
years.

The opera was energetic and enchanted. An interesting
development was its freedom to address current political themes,
a taboo during the New Order regime.

The theater group which successfully hypnotized the audience
is known as Arja Cowok, a group made up entirely of men. The
opera group is under the supervision of Denpasar-based Printing
Mas Studio and is busy putting on performances throughout Bali.
"We receive 15 to 20 requests to perform each month," Kadek
Widnyana, a 36-year-old dancer who usually plays the heroic role
of Mantri Manis for the group, said.

The opera seems to have returned to its original form when men
dominated the stage. Balinese have long believed that most of the
players in the Arja were women, while men were only given roles
as clowns.

However, when it first appeared in 1775, female dancers were
taboo. Female players only appeared in the early 1920s, but since
then have dominated both the male and female roles in the opera.

After enjoying a long period of glory, the traditional opera
began to lose its touch. Requests for performances drastically
decreased and one by one, Arja groups dissolved. The opera fell
further from grace as young artists declined to learn the art and
craft of the opera, while Arja masters grew old and died.

And even the regular broadcasts of Arja opera on state-run RRI
radio which had been heard since the 1960s lost their audience.

The return to glory started in 1994, when a group of alumni
from the Denpasar-based Indonesian Arts College decided to
reactivate the Arja Cowok. Surprisingly, they won warm applause
from the public.

Interestingly, the group broke from the tradition of using the
Panji as the source of stories for the opera. They adapted the
parody of the Siti Markonah, a story about a member of the West
Sumatran royal family who seeks a beautiful bride in Madura.

However, the group maintained the basic format of the opera.
Its dramatic structure has remained true to Arja's classical
framework and its theatrical source book remains the same. The
macapat or sekar alit style of expression is still used, while
the acting continues to be accompanied by songs.

In the past, the sadness or misery endured by the opera's
protagonist could draw tears from the audience. The Arja group
has the same ability to bring tears to the eyes of the audience.
However, these are not tears of sadness, but tears of laughter.

Old Arja performances, which often were formal and long-
winded, have been transformed by light and fresh dialog, although
the context and cultural setting remains the same. These new
performances are capable of using humor and satire with a deft
touch.

An actor playing the character of the poor Desak Rai talks
about the crisis which has hit his country because of its
tyrannical leader. Meanwhile, the Prince warns his people to
carefully elect their leader. "Your votes will determine the
future of this country. Your right to vote is not mere courtesy,"
he says, and is immediately applauded by the audience.