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In the coming Chinese Opera Festival 2011, the Jingkun Theatre of Hong Kong and the Peking Opera Theatre of Hebei will collaborate to perform Peking and Kunqu opera classics in "Plum Blossom Award Winning Showcase".
Following the success of the theatre groups' "Three Stars in Peking Opera," which won both critical and popular acclaim, veteran stars Pei Yanling and Tang Yuen-ha will return to charm audiences once more with their sublime and engaging performances. Pei will display her highly fluid voice and impeccable stylised movements in the new Peking opera "The Story of the Actor Xiang Jiuxiao"; in a play-within-a-play segment, she will revert to her own gender onstage for the very first time by appearing in a "dan" (female) role. This production has made Pei a three-time winner of the Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Theatre.
In "The Great Heroine (The Iron Bow)", Tang Yuen-ha will reverse Pei's onstage personas by appearing first in a "dan" role before cross-dressing for the civilian and military male roles of "xiaosheng" and "wusheng". "The Great Heroine (The Iron Bow)" has won Tang national fame and high acclaim in China when she was presented the 8th Plum Blossom Award, making her the first Chinese opera artist from Hong Kong to have received this highest honour in Chinese theatrical arts.
In addition to the award-winning productions, the two stars will give separate performances of Peking opera and Kunqu excerpts before joining together in "Revealing the True Identity from The Captive General Visits His Mother". Last but not the least, there will be excerpts of renowned repertoires that Chinese opera lovers definitely cannot afford to miss.
Details of the programme are as follows:
June 23 (Thursday)
New Peking opera "The Story of the Actor Xiang Jiuxiao".
June 24 (Friday)
Peking opera "The Great Heroine (Iron Bow)".
June 25 (Saturday)
Excerpts: "Revealing the True Identity" from "The Captive General Visits his Mother", "The Pulley", "The Marriage Proposal from Zhuangzi's Butterfly Dream", "Wu Song Beating the Tiger Barehanded".
All shows will be staged at 7.30pm at the Auditorium, Kwai Tsing Theatre. Tickets priced at $350, $240, $180 and $100 are now available at URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by credit card telephone booking. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. (Limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients.) Please refer to the programme booklet for group booking discount schemes of the Chinese Opera Festival programmes.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7325, or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp. For ticketing enquiries, please call 2734 9009. For credit card telephone bookings, please call 2111 5999. For Internet bookings, please visit www.urbtix.hk.
Ends/Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Issued at HKT 12:54
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