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synopsis
A CHINESE CRACKER
THE MAKING OF THE PEONY PAVILION Chen Shi-Zheng’s production of Tang Xianzu’s Peony Pavilion, a masterpiece of Kunju opera, met with overwhelming enthusiasm when it was mounted at the Lincoln Center Festival in New York and the Festival d’Automne in Paris last year. These performances marked the culmination of a two-year struggle against daunting odds to bring this colourful sixteenth-century epic to the stage. They were also the fruit of a dedicated quest to rediscover a unique style of performance and a tradition of music theatre obscured by four centuries of changing fashion, political expediency and, most recently, commercial consideration. To preserve the remarkable achievement of Chen Shi-Zheng and all his company for posterity, RM Associates recorded The Peony Pavilion over two three-day performances. Shot on location in China and America, A Chinese Cracker tells the story of the trials and tribulations – political and artistic – of bringing The Peony Pavilion to the stage. Illustrated with glorious extracts from the live recording made in Paris, it summarises the story; introduces the characters and the actors who play them; explains the differences between Western and Chinese operatic traditions and between Kunju and Beijing opera; places Tang Xianzu – a contemporary of Shakespeare – in the context of China’s political and artistic past; sits in on rehearsals in Shanghai and at Jacob’s Pillow, a dance retreat in Massachusetts; sees the fabulous sets and costumes being made by masters carpenters, embroiderers, seamstresses and tailors in China; and goes backstage to observe the intricate process of making-up and dressing the actors for a performance. There are also interviews with Chen Shi-Zheng, music director Zhou Ming, and leading performers Qian Yi (Beautiful Du) and Wen Yu Hang (Liu Mengmei). download information
Cast: Qian Yi, Wen Yuhang Customer Reviewspeople who bought this product also bought...
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