On August 27th, a press conference was held at the NCPA for MEI, SHANG, CHENG and XUN - SHI Yihong's Peking Opera Gala in Beijing, and the leading performer SHI Yihong attended the conference. The performance is produced by Shanghai Hong & Mei Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., and starring national A-list actress SHI Yihong in partnership with Shanghai Peking Opera Theatre. It is a programme rolled out by SHI Yihong after “Unsurpassed Elegance - SHI,” with which she toured China, Farewell to My Concubine that she performed in the New York Metropolitan Museum several times, as well as a chamber music version of Peking Opera Farewell to My Concubine, which she performed at Shanghai Tower in 2016 and 2017.
This time, she will perform four representative masterpieces of the “four famous Peking Opera artists” (MEI Lanfang, CHENG Yanqiu, SHANG Xiaoyun and Xun Huisheng): The Story of Susan (MEI School), Zhaojun Outside the Frontier (SHANG school), Spring Dream in Boudoir (CHENG School) and JIN Yunu (XUN School).
SHI Yihong and the host at the conference.
Photo by Cheryl
Great efforts have been spent in selecting operas in order that the audiences could see different elegant demeanors of “MEI, SHANG, CHENG and XUN” and enjoy the whole performance. While SHI won't give any minor performance before the main event, she gave a detailed interpretation about the programme.
Still of
Zhaojun Outside the FrontierSHI, an expert in the MEI School of Peking Opera, chooses MEI School's The Story of Susan, a Peking opera primarily performed by a female role of Dan, because this opera has high requirements for singing skills.
SHI will sing and dance in the SHANG School's Zhaojun Outside the Frontier. This piece will make audiences enjoy the beauty of “dancing” in Peking Opera, and appreciate SHANG School's vigorosness and gracefulness.
She selects CHENG School's Spring Dream in Boudoir, which has the same characteristics as Kunqu Opera and high requirements for singing skills, to immerse the audiences in a “dreamland” to hear CHENG School's low sobs.
Still of Spring Dream in Boudoir
As for using the XUN School's JIN Yunu, an opera about the truth, she wants to express the good and the beauty of human nature, in order to display the essence of XUN School.
SHI believes that if every character is rendered to the life audiences can resonate from the performance, and feel the beauty of each school. Peking Opera is very dynamic, so performers should try to explore more about the opera and be creative. Of the four operas, Spring Dream in Boudoir and JIN Yunu haven't been performed by her before. At the press conference, she told the host and reporters the backstage stories about how she studied the two traditional operas which were new to her. She said the gala would be a good opportunity for her to explore herself. She's glad to show the audiences her various characteristic on the stage.
It is worth mentioning that YU School's outstanding artist CAI Zhengren, who is 77 years old and will perform JIN Yunu with JIN Xihua and SHI in Beijing for the first time.
Different from the performance in Shanghai, the one in Beijing will use new idea of set design and new materials to reflect the modern elements compared to the traditional Peking Opera stage's scenery, to give the Peking Opera a new look.
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