Chinese Opera Festival returns in June to delight audiences with timeless classics (with photos)
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This year's COF will showcase "The Legend of the White Snake" in various theatrical genres, with the Peking Opera Theatre of Beijing kicking off the Festival with three iconic plays featuring Wang Rongrong, a disciple of Peking opera master Zhang Junqiu and winner of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award (Plum Blossom Award). The three performances, "Top Scholar as Matchmaker", "Poetry Contest", and "Jinshan Temple, The Broken Bridge, Leifeng Pagoda", highlight the artistic legacy of Zhang, famed for his "qingyi" (virtuous female) roles. The Sichuan Opera Troupe, meanwhile, will present their version of "The Legend of the White Snake" with the artistic flavour of the Sichuan region. Moreover, Chen Zhilin, director of the troupe and a two-time recipient of the Plum Blossom Award, will act in the classic Sichuan opera "A Marriage as a Peace Pact" and stage a performance of a selection of excerpts together with an excellent cast. Returning to the COF this year is the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Centre, which will execute a masterful integration of martial arts into "The Legend of the White Snake", a production from the civil category, and a number of excerpts demonstrating traditional skills and martial art routines and stunts of Wu opera.
Following the success of "'The Peony Pavilion' - The Youth Version", the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu will return to Hong Kong for a re-run of this repertory in its three-part full version with the original cast. Curated by the renowned novelist, Pai Hsien-yung, who is also the chief producer, the production retains the poetic finesse of Kunqu, and its staging seamlessly blends classical charm with modern appeal. Shen Fengying and Yu Jiulin, both Plum Blossom Award winners, will return to the Hong Kong stage, and together bring the touching love story that transcends death to audiences again.
In "The Art of Wusheng Roles in Cantonese Opera", celebrated "wusheng" (male martial) artist Liu Kwok-sum will partner with veteran opera stars such as Lee Lung, Wan Fai-yin and Yuen Siu-fai to reprise some of the masterpieces of the late "King of the Wusheng Role" Lan Chi Pak, including "Prime Minister of Six States", "Contention for the Seal", "Death of a Loyal Warrior" and "The Impeachment of Yan Song". One of the scenes from "Contention for the Seal", "Burying the Horse", has rarely been staged over the last 20 years, and is truly not to be missed.
During the festival, audiences will also be able to enjoy Han opera and Qu opera, both of which are seldom seen on the stages of Hong Kong. With a history of nearly 400 years, Han opera is one of the oldest forms of traditional opera in China. Making its debut in the COF, the Wuhan Han Opera Theatre will be performing three representative productions from their classical repertory, "The Cosmic Sword", "Admonition by Suicide" and "When the Plum Tree Blooms Again". The star-studded cast, which includes Wang Li, a winner of the Plum Blossom Award, and other National Class One performers, will enchant audiences with the rich legacy of Han opera. Qu opera, meanwhile, is mostly about the lives of ordinary folks, and its singing and spoken lines are simple and easy to understand. The Centre for the Safeguarding of Qu Opera of Henan will bring Hong Kong audiences three highly representative productions, "Wedding in a Snowstorm", "Roll Up in a Mat" and "Chen Sanliang", showcasing the best of the Henan style.
This year, the COF has invited over 10 renowned Yue opera artists, all Plum Blossom Award winners, to join hands in Hong Kong and perform four classic full-length plays of "xiaosheng" (young man role) stylistic schools in "A Stellar Meet featuring Plum Blossom Award Winners in Yue Opera" so as to pay tribute to the Yue opera predecessors. The four productions include "The Dream of the Red Chamber", "The Pearl Pagoda", "The Butterfly Lovers" and "He Wenxiu".
The grand finale of the COF, "Bless This Land - Cantonese Opera Showcase under the Bamboo Theatre at Victoria Park", will be held outdoors at a large makeshift bamboo theatre erected at Victoria Park, where productions from traditional Cantonese opera repertoire performed by top-notch performers will be staged, to embody Hong Kong's authentic Cantonese operatic culture. The Chinese title for this activity is a famous line by Lu You, a poet of renown in the Song dynasty. He wrote about a prosperous era when people lived well, cultural activities thrived, and performance venues could be found everywhere. The vision fits in well with the format of this Cantonese opera bamboo-theatre showcase, as it wraps up this year's COF under an iconic Hong Kong bamboo theatre, carrying with it well wishes for peace, prosperity, celebration and joy for Hong Kong. Ticketing and performance details will be announced in due course.
In addition to the above-mentioned performances, a series of extension activities including talks, meet-the-artists sessions, exhibitions and Chinese opera film screenings, will be held throughout the festival period to promote the artistry and culture of Chinese traditional opera.
For programme dates and details, please see the Annex. Tickets for all performances will be available from May 12 (Friday) onwards at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk) and the Xiqu Centre Ticket Office. For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7325 or visit www.cof.gov.hk.
Ends/Monday, May 8, 2023
Issued at HKT 11:10
Issued at HKT 11:10
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