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Opera fans gather at Guyi Garden in Shanghai's Jiading district to enjoy a performance of the classic Kunqu opera [Photo/ jiading.gov.cn] |
Visitors to Guyi Garden were transported back in time 700 years on Sept 26-27, as the park in Shanghai's Jiading district hosted a sumptuous production of the classic Chinese opera Xixiang Ji, or Romance of the Western Chamber.
The performance staged by Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe was an adaptation of Xixiang Ji written by Li Rihua, a famous dramatist from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The work is a Kunqu opera, a style of Chinese Opera that hails from Kunshan, a city in Jiangsu province that borders Jiading.
Renowned as the most elegant and romantic genre of traditional Chinese drama, Kunqu has been popular for centuries, particularly in southern China.
Kunqu is famous for its mild, exquisite and sentimental melodies, with its librettos usually telling love stories, with Xixiang Ji an example of this.
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Actors from Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe perform Xixiang Ji at Guyi Garden. [Photo/ jiading.gov.cn] |
The opera tells the story of a secret love affair between Zhang Sheng, a young scholar, and Cui Yingying, the daughter of a powerful imperial minister.
The combination of song, dance and spoken word, with each gesture of the actors filled with symbolism and emotion, adds to the power of the story.
With its classical design and air of antiquity, Guyi Garden was the perfect setting for the Ming-era opera, allowing both audience and actors to immerse themselves in the work.
In addition to Xixiang Ji, the troupe also performed highlights from three other operas, namely Jijian, Tiaoqiang Zhuoqi and Jiaqi.