Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu
The Peony Pavilion - The Youth Version

The Peony Pavilion - The Youth Version is a story of love and about love. The libretto is based on the Ming drama The Peony Pavilion, the magnum opus of the great Ming dynasty dramatist, Tang Xianzu (1550–1616), and is meticulously edited to tell the story in three parts: ‘Love in a Dream’, ‘Love between a Mortal and a Ghost’ and ‘Love in This World’.

Structurally, the current production is condensed into 27 episodes presented in three parts. The full-length performance lasts for three consecutive days, for a total of eight hours. Such an extended running time would allow fans of Kunqu to immerse themselves in the wonderfully aesthetic world of the genre. As Mr Pai Hsien-yung said, “Kunqu is, in a nutshell, about ‘beauty’ – the beauty of words, the beauty of dance, the beauty of music and the beauty of humanity. It is a comprehensive art form that showcases beauty.”

The Peony Pavilion – The Youth Version is a signature production of the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu, created by the leading artists of traditional theatre and culture, with renowned writer Mr Pai Hsien-yung as the chief producer, and top Kunqu performing artists Wang Shiyu and Zhang Jiqing as artistic consultants. The stars of the cast are Shen Fengying, winner of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award and the Wenhua Award, and Yu Jiulin, also a winner of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award.

28.7.2023 (Fri) 7:30pm

Part One: Love in a Dream

The story takes place in the Southern Song period (960—1279). Du Bao, Prefect of Nan’an, is a very strict parent. His daughter, Liniang, is a quiet and sweet beauty.

One spring day, she goes to the back garden with her maid, Chunxiang. As she sees the beautiful spring scene, her amorous heart is awakened. She falls asleep in the garden and dreams of having an amorous encounter with a handsome scholar at the Peony Pavilion. She wakes up and begins to pine for the elusive love, so much so that she soon dies.

29.7.2023 (Sat) 7:30pm

Part Two: Love between a Mortal and a Ghost

Then somewhere, there is a scholar by the name of Liu Mengmei. He happens to find a portrait of Liniang and expresses his admiration for her beauty. The spirit of Liniang is invoked, and despite the rift between the worlds of the living and the dead, the two become husband and wife. Liu goes to Liniang’s tomb to resurrect her out of true love, and Liniang comes back to life.

30.7.2023 (Sun) 7:30pm

Part Three: Love in this World

But no sooner is the couple enjoying their newly married life than they are forced to part. Liu wades through thick and thin to find Liniang’s father, only to be treated as a tomb raider and is tortured and beaten. Later, Liu comes first in the national civil examination. At the imperial court, he is highly honoured by the emperor, and the whole family is reunited.

The running time of each performance is approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes including an intermission of 15 minutes.

Lyrics and dialogue with Chinese and English surtitles.

Cast

Du Liniang	: Shen Fengying
Liu Mengmei	: Yu Jiulin
Chunxiang	: Shen Guofang
Sister Stone	: Tao Hongzhen
Chen Zuiliang	: Shen Zhiming
Du Bao	: Qu Binbin
Lady Du	: Chen Lingling
Judge in Hell/Li Quan	: Tang Rong
Old Woman Yang	: Lu Jia
Guo the Hunchback/Diplomatic Officer/Old Boatman	: Lu Fuhai
Foreign Envoy/Miao Shunbin	: Fang Jiangguo
Flower Spirit/Bar Keeper	: Liu Chunlin
Emperor	: Xu Yun

Creative Team

Chief Producer and Artistic Director	︰Pai Hsien-yung
Producer	︰Cai Shaohua
Director	︰Wang Shiyu
Artistic Directors	︰Wang Shiyu, Zhang Jiqing (d.)

Information provided by the arts groups

Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu

As a professional performing arts company and in the birth place of the Kunqu art form, the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu stands out among the other troupes through its efforts to uphold the age-old traditional format and the unadulterated style and features of Kunqu Opera. Its first generation of veteran actors adopted ‘chuan’ as the middle character of their stage names. From then on, it has trained up five generations of artists in the Suzhou stylistic school of Kunqu Opera, whose middle characters in their stage names are ‘Ji’, ‘Cheng’, ‘Hong’, ‘Yang’ and ‘Zhen’. Wang Fang won the high honour of being presented the ‘China Theatre Plum Blossom Award – Second-time Around’. Other artists who have won the Plum Blossom Award include Shen Fengying, Yu Jiulin and Zhou Xuefeng. The company has, in the last decade or more, made landmark achievements in not only the Kunqu Opera circle but also the cultural milieux in general through the creation of their signature productions such as The Peony Pavilion – Youth Version, The Palace of Eternal Life, The Peony Pavilion – Botantei Sino-Japanese Version, The Great Beauty Xi Shi, The Tale of the Jade Hairpin, Scepters Piling on the Couch, The White Silk Gown, The Legend of the White Snake, The Story of the Pipa, etc. While the company has contributed to the perpetuation of the art form and its classical repertory, at the same time it has continued to make Kunqu a timeless art and Kunqu Opera a cultural phenomenon.

Information provided by Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu