NCPA Folk Opera Commission

The Ballad of Canal
GALLERY
SYNOPSIS
During the Ming Dynasty, scholar QIN Xiaosheng is captured by the police for exposing official's corruption cases in Hangzhou. The folk singer SHUI Honglian, resisting being a concubine, also fleeds to the banks of the canal. The two meet up at the sacrifice ceremony for the Dragon King of the river, on a song and dance tournament. They pose as performer on the dragon boat and escape. QIN wears sailor LI Xiaoguan's abandoned uniform and forfeits as a sailor. They take the boat of Zhang Shuiyao and went north along the canal in exile.

Meeting in trouble, they fall in love with each other, but the ship owner ZHANG also has vicious love for SHUI. Over Suzhou pier, the ship encountered GUAN Yanyan, who, due to the romantic sailor Li's tricky plays, gave birth to a child and cried her eyes blind. ZHANG convicts QIN to be LI Xiaoguan. To avoid arrestment, QIN has no way to speak up but is forced to live together with GUAN. If the truth is told, GUAN will resort to suicide; QIN and SHUI are in immense grief.

ZHANG finds out QIN's true identity and informs the police. In danger and emergence, SHUI asks QIN to take GUAN, with visual inconveniences, to go first, and leaves behind to stall for time.

ZHANG bounds SHUI to lure Qin to come back. To save her love, SHUI ignites the lamp on board and burns the boat with herself on.

QIN wants to follow SHUI away. But GUAN asks him to finish the uncompleted cause of SHUI, QIN is thus moved. QIN and GUAN come to Beijing and decide to denounce the corrupt officials to the Emperor. SHUI's love, beyond common love of common human beings, makes QIN and GUAN find the home of soul of wanderers.

NCPA Resident Singers

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