April 13
th:
Two Belles in Love
[Guanqifu] Kunqu Opera series: “Guanqifu” traces back to Lao Tzu’s
Tao Te Ching, meaning “return to nature”. We plan to stage a series of old librettos with them returning to nature so that modern audiences could enjoy a more authentic viewing experience and young viewers would pay attention to Kunqu Opera. We will also extract elements from the old librettos to suit contemporary people’s tastes.
PEI Shaojun and LI Qianjun
Creative
Presenter: The Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre
Collaborating Organization: Beijing Guanqifu Culture Media Co., Ltd.
Executive Presenter: YANG Fengyi
Producer: CAO Wenzhen
Original Author: BAI Pu (Yuan Dynasty)
Adapter: WANG Yueyang
Stage Director: ZHANG Peng
Art Director: ZHANG Jingxian, ZHOU Zhigang
Voice Composer: WANG Dayuan
Visual Effect Director: FENG Hai
Music Composer: WANG Tianci
Voice & Instruments Designer: XING Xiao
Lighting Designer: GUAN Ai
Hair Style Designer: LI Xuemin
Costumes Consultant: WANG Qi
Hospitality Staff: WU Si
Cast
LI Qianjun: SHAO Tianshuai
PEI Shaojun: WANG Chen
PEI Xingjian: YUAN Guoliang
ZHANG Qian: ZHANG Huan
MEI Xiang: WANG Linlin
Elder madam: WANG Yi
Fumo: SHI Shuyue
“Guanqifu”the production of
PEI Shaojun and LI Qianjun is an abridged edition of the poetic drama
PEI Shaojun and LI Qianjun written by BAI Pu, a writer in the Yuan Dynasty. BAI Pu’s
PEI Shaojun and LI Qianjun is one of the top ten comedies in ancient China, whereas it contains a decadent idea about love and marriage and a tragic element about women in the feudal society.
The Story of Jade Hairpin
Creative
Presenter: Beijing Guanqifu Culture Media Co., Ltd.
Performed by: The Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre
Original author: GAO Lian (Ming Dynasty)
Producer: ZHANG Peng
Stage Director: ZHANG Peng
Script Assistant: WANG Yan
Art Director: YUE Meiti, ZHANG Jingxian
Visual Effect Director & Photographer: FENG Hai
Music Composer: WANG Tianci
Voice Composer (part): XING Xiao
Voice & Instruments Designer: XING Xiao
Hair Style Designer: LI Xuemin
Lighting Designer: GUAN Ai
Costumes Consultant: WANG Qi
Coordinator: CAO Wenzhen
Cast Coordinator: YANG Fan
Music Coordinator: SUN Kai
Set Production Coordinator: LONG Hongqiao, XING Qi
Drum Player: ZHUANG Decheng
Flute Player: GUAN Moxuan
Cast
CHEN Miaochang: SHAO Tianshuai
PAN Bizheng: WENG Jiahui
Aunt: BAI Xiaojun
Jin'an: ZHANG Nuan
Fisherman / Host: TIAN Xinguo
Wife of the fisherman: WANG Yi
Chorus: YUAN Guoliang
The Story of Jade Hairpin, written by GAO Lian, a famous writer and book collector in the Ming Dynasty, is honoured as one of the top ten traditional comedies. It is adapted from
ZHANG Yuhu Stays One Night in Nüzhen Nunnery, a poetic Kunqu Opera by an anonymous person in the Ming Dynasty, and the
ZHANG Yuhu Stays One Night in Nüzhen Nunnery contained in the
Notes of Swallow Cottage, a book written in the Ming Dynasty, based on
The Story of Jade Hairpin of the Day Lily Cottage, written by GUAN Hanqing, a great Kuqnu Opera writer in the Ming Dynasty. GAO Lian’s
The Story of Jade Hairpin is a famous Kunqu Opera. It tells a story about CHEN Miaochang, a Buddhist nun, getting married to PAN Bizheng. The story is not only fantastic, but full of twists and turns, making the audience feel that there is no bright road until at the end of hills and rivers, or there is no an enchanting sight until the spring comes. There is scenery in the lyrics and tunes of Shuimo, and the scenery excites their feelings as they chat with each other. Audiences might well enjoy the Kunqu Opera.
“Guanqifu”, the production of
The Story of Jade Hairpin is the representative work of ZHANG Jingxian and YUE Meiti, two leading performers’ respected teachers, who are national treasure-class Kunqu Opera masters and serve as artistic directors in this Kunqu Opera, which features distinctive character modelling, e.g., CHEN Miaochang looks the same as CHEN Miaochang in the
Thirteen Grandmasters during the Reign of Emperor Tongzhi and Guangxu of Qing Dynasty. Throughout the Kunqu Opera are variations adapted from Buddhist music for ambience. The Kunqu Opera is performed in a scenery-free scene of primitive simplicity. One table and two chairs highlight the classical elegance and simplicity of Kunqu Opera as well as the performers’ performing skills. The story is refined from the essence of the Kunqu Opera, with the love between the protagonists fully described in two hours.
Two Belles in Love
Original Author: LI Yu (Qing Dynasty)
Producer & Stage Director: ZHANG Peng
Adaptor: WANG Yan
Art Coach: ZHANG Jingxian
Music Director: ZHOU Youliang
Visual Effect Director & Photographer: FENG Hai
Music Coordinator: SUN Kai
Music Composer: WANG Tianci
Voice & Instruments Designer: YANG Yi
Hair Style Design: LI Xuemin
Movement Coach: SHI Bo
Accessories & Jewelry Designer: LONG Zijia
Lighting Designer: GUAN Ai
Costumes Consultant: WANG Qi
Coordinator: WANG Jing
Set Production Coordinator: XING Qi, LONG Hongqiao
Drum Player: LI Yongsheng
Flute Player: LIU Tianlu
Cast
CUI Jianyun: SHAO Tianshuai
CAO Yuhua: YU Xuejiao
FAN Jiefu: WANG Chen
Others: ZHANG Peng, WANG Yi, WU Si, ZHANG Huan, SHI Shuyue
400 years ago, LI Yu, a gifted scholar in the Ming Dynasty, wrote a famous drama about lesbians titled “Two Belles in Love”. In the drama, CUI Jianyun and CAO Yuhua are married to the same man in order to stay together forever, composing an unprecedented melody of lesbian love.
400 years later, ZHANG Peng, a young director at the Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre, works with versatile artists in producing exquisite little-theatre Kunqu Opera. They fine-tune the story, changing the lesbian love between CAO and CUI into a close friendship.