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Peking Opera Gala to mark opening of Chinese Opera Festival
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     The Chinese Opera Festival presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will be launched with Peking Opera Gala performances in June. The festival is one of the celebration programmes to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
 
     Two top-notch Peking opera troupes, the Peking Opera Theatre of Beijing and the First Troupe of the China National Peking Opera Company, will visit Hong Kong to showcase their distinguished talents. The first three performances to be staged from June 13 to 15 will be headed by the Peking Opera Theatre of Beijing. The opening performance "A Right Royal Match" is a lively and entertaining traditional Peking opera. Esteemed performing artists Yu Kuizhi (guest), Du Zhenjie and Yang Shaopeng will be playing Liu Bei, and Li Shengsu (guest) and Zhang Huifang will be playing Sun Shangxiang. Also in the cast are guest performer Yang Chi from the Dalian Peking Opera Theatre, the representative "xiaosheng" (young male) actor Li Hongtu and other renowned artists.
 
     The First Troupe of the China National Peking Opera Company will take the lead in the next three performances from June 16 to 18. Yu Kuizhi, a leading artist playing the "laosheng" (old male) role, will be headlining in "Pillars of the Dynasty, Visiting the Mausoleum and The Two Faithful Courtiers". He will be co-starring with Li Shengsu, a "dan" (female) performer who has inherited the art of Mei Lanfang, and Yang Chi (guest). The production is characterised by demanding singing segments that bring out the rapport and virtuosity of the cast.
 
     A wide variety of Peking opera repertoire will be staged at the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in six consecutive days. Details of the performances are as follows:
 
June 13 (Tuesday), 7.30pm
"A Right Royal Match"
 
June 14 (Wednesday), 7.30pm
"A Meeting of Heroes, Invoking the East Wind and The Huarong Pass"
 
June 15 (Thursday), 7.30pm
"The Fourth Son Visits his Mother"
 
June 16 (Friday), 7.30pm
"Subduing the Leopard Monster", "Pillars of the Dynasty, Visiting the Mausoleum and The Two Faithful Courtiers"
 
June 17 (Saturday), 7.30pm
"The Nymph of Luo River", "The Loss of Jieting, Empty City Stratagem, Executing Ma Su"
 
June 18 (Sunday), 2.30pm
"The Unofficial Biography of Taizhen"
 
     Tickets priced at $150, $250, $350 and $450 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999.
 
     An "Artists on Their Art" session talk entitled "The Inheritance and Development of Peking Opera" (in Putonghua) will be held at 7.30pm on June 12 (Monday) at AC2, 4/F, Administration Building, Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The President of the Peking Opera Theatre of Beijing, Li Enjie, will be the speaker, and performers of the two performing troupes will also attend. Admission is free. Limited seats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
 
     For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7325 or visit www.cof.gov.hk.
 
Ends/Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Issued at HKT 13:05
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