An Exquisite Beauty: The World of Kunqu
The resounding bell started the global premiere of classical Kunqu opera The Jade Hairpin (New Version) on the evening of November 8, 2008, at Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre (www.sscac.com.cn). This is also the second cooperation project between mainland China and Taiwan after the success of The Peony Pavilion (Youth Version).
The Jade Hairpin is a play by playwright Gao Lian in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), telling a love story between a talented scholar and a beautiful Taoist priestess pursuing true love by breaking away from moral restrictions. The story serves as the basic plot of several types of Chinese operas including Kunqu Opera, Sichuan Opera, Peking Opera, and Yueju Opera (Shaoxing Opera). And in Kunqu performance history, the young couple played by Ms. Yue Meiti and Ms. Hua Wenyi has been universally acknowledged as the classical interpretation and is the most popular among both professionals and fans.
The new version of Kunqu opera The Jade Hairpin was a cultural project on the National Kunqu Art Protection and Support List in 2007. Its production team and cast are almost the same with the Youth Version of The Peony Pavilion. The production team is led by famed Taiwan writer Professor Hsien-Yung Pai, and members include local Kunqu masters Ms. Yue and Ms. Hua serving as artistic directors and tutoring young players Yu Jiulin and Shen Fengying.
Half an hour before the premiere, audience has already gathered in front of Grand Theater entrance and many of them came a long way from Taiwan and Hong Kong for the show. At the premiere, all the 1,200 seats on three floors have been taken; and Professor Pai, Ms. Yue, and Ms. Hua were also among the audience. The two-and-a-half-hour show has six scenes of Seeking Shelter at Temple, Flirting in Music, Visiting the Lovesick, Stealing a Poem, Pressing for Departure, and Bidding Farewell. The beautiful melody, the excellent performance, the exquisite costumes, and the simple yet elegant stage design; all these produced a journey of visual carnival for the audience.
During the performance, the music played on guqin, an ancient 7-stringed instrument dating back to Tang Dynasty (618-907), is an indispensable factor contributing to the success of the sound effect and the show. When the young couple fell in love at first sight and when the two communicated love with the help of music, the perfect combination of Kunqu and guqin, two Masterpieces of UNESCO Vernacular and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, created a unique enjoyment.
The first few scenes about the young scholar and beautiful lady trying to figure out what's really in the mind of the other had produced the most laughter among audience and many said after the show: "now I know what it was like when the young fell in love in ancient China". Some praised the second production for continuing the tradition of exquisiteness and magnificence in the Youth Version of The Peony Pavilion, yet with less dramatic conflicts and more funny moments, which also showcases the varieties of Kunqu performance art.
During China Drama Festival held in December 2007 in Suzhou, the Youth Version of The Peony Pavilion was on the repertoire list and enjoyed the best box office among all shows. The seat occupancy rate of its premiere reached 90% and the show attracted lots of dedicated fans flying from US, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Since then, Kunqu community has established partnership with the leading theater in Suzhou for more cooperation projects.
"I hope that more new and important shows will premiere at Suzhou Science and Cultural Arts Centre, for they offer the best stage facilities and services," said President Cai Shaohua of Suzhou Kunqu Opera Company. The leading local theater has the state-of-the-art facilities to ensure the best stage effect of setting, lighting, sound, and visual. The auditorium is located close to the stage so that the audience can see more clearly the performance and the stage details.
The second performance of The Jade Hairpin was scheduled on the evening of November 9 and then the classical Kunqu masterpiece would premiere in Hong Kong as part of an unprecedented large-scale Kunqu promotion program, "Exquisite Beauty: The World of Kunqu", which is presented by the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation and organized by the University of Hong Kong.
February 20, 2009
