30.6.2023 (Fri) 7:30pm

The Legend of the White Snake

Sichuan Opera The Legend of the White Snake is a traditional opera comprised of both civil and martial elements. The role of White Snake is civil at first and later turns martial, whereas that of Green Snake is interpreted in the two different images of wusheng (military male) and huadan (young female) rotationally. The martial scenes are artfully crafted, employing demanding stunts like swift face-changing, lifting, standing on shoulder and flicking of flowing sleeves. The thousand-year-old legendary love story is presented in the signature style of Sichuan Opera.

Fairy White Snake is imprisoned in the white lotus pond by the Buddha because of her love for Arhat Guizhi. The more she is tempered, the more she grows frustrated with the merciless heavenly rules. She struggles to free herself from the shackles and flees to the mortal world. With the help of Green Snake, she marries the banished Xu Xian (Arhat Guizhi reincarnated). At the order of the Buddha, Monk Fahai follows Xu to the mortal world and uses malicious tactics trying to break up the loving couple. To safeguard her pure love and counteract the perverse tricks of Fahai, White Snake showes her magical power furiously and flooded the Mount Jin. Together with Green Snake, the two fight bravely against the ferocious heavenly generals.

Main Cast: Liu Yi (Former Part) / Zhou Ting (Latter Part), Yang Kunhao, Xie Zhanghong, Liu Su, Li Jiajun, Yang Xu

1.7.2023 (Sat) 7:30pm

A Marriage as a Peace Pact

A Marriage as a Peace Pact has been staged by the Sichuan Opera Troupe since 1962 and has been well-loved by the audience. The play features the entire stock roles in a story filled with dramatic turns, lively characters and a festive mood. Many opera fans regard it as a classic, with all the roles of sheng (male), dan (female), jing (painted face) and chou (comic) performing in singing, reciting and martial arts scenes. The story is infused with Sichuan Opera appeal and a distinct regional flavour. The performance this time is led by the two-time recipient of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award Chen Zhilin and will undoubtedly be remarkable.

The final years of the Eastern Han Dynasty are marked by the rise of packs of heroes. Using Jing Province which he borrowed from Sun Quan of Eastern Wu as a foothold, Liu Bei lays his eyes on the state of Western Shu. When Sun Quan’s repeated attempts to reclaim Jing Province prove futile, his military governor Zhou Yu sets up a beauty trap. By saying Sun offers his sister Lady Sun Shangxiang to Liu Bei as a wife and asking Liu to cross the river to complete the marriage ceremony, Sun Quan hopes to seize the chance to reclaim Jing Province. Knowing it is Sun Quan’s trick, Liu Bei’s counsellor Zhuge Liang advises Liu to accept the offer anyway. Meanwhile, he arranges three tips and tricks and dispatches Zhao Yun to escort Liu to cross the river, turning Sun’s trick around and realising the fake marriage instead.

As Zhou Yu’s ruse falls through, he comes up with another scheme. He tries to lure Liu Bei to indulge in wine and women to the point where debauchery undermines Liu’s ambition for the nation. Following Zhuge Liang’s advice, Liu feigns being fatuous and succeeds in learning Lady Sun’s heartfelt wish. The couple claims they want to pay their respects to the ancestors by the riverbank while they wait for the chance to flee. Zhou Yu sees through their pretence, foreseeing they will use this excuse to escape; he therefore deploys armies to chase and intercept them. Unfortunately, it is too late. Zhuge Liang has already dispatched Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to the riverbank to back them up. In the end, Zhou Yu loses on both fronts and must pay a double penalty.

Main Cast: Chen Zhilin, Xiong Xiangang, Zhao Siya, Du Jia

2.7.2023 (Sun) 7:30pm

Excerpt Catching Sanlang Alive (Gaoqiang)

Catching Sanlang Alive is a gaoqiang piece for the roles of chou (comic) and guihudan (ghost or vixen). Apart from the unique Sichuan Opera stunt of ‘lifting the dummy’, there are stylised routines of the satin ribbon and pleats as well as the walk of the demon fox.

Unwilling to be alone in the netherworld, Yan Xijiao returns to the mortal world in search of her previous lover Zhang Wenyuan and attempts to lure him to join her in the netherworld for fun. Zhang refuses, but is eventually captured alive by the ghost Yan.

Main Cast: Wan Duo, Li Yujie

Excerpt Waylaying the Horse (Tanxi)

Waylaying the Horse is a tanxi piece for the roles of wuchou (military comic) and wudan (military female). It shows perfect coordination between the two actors through the stunt with the chairs, especially for the wuchou role, with the feats of leaping, somersaulting, stroking, crawling, rolling, beating and falling to demonstrate the characters’ wit and dexterity, fun and humour as well as his remarkable martial skills.

During the Song Dynasty, Song soldier Jiao Guangpu is stranded in the state of Liao and opens a small tavern. He longs to return to the Song camp and patiently awaits the opportunity. One day, a Liao soldier with a border pass on his belt arrives at the tavern. In the hope of stealing the pass to exit the border, Jiao stops his horse and invites the Liao soldier to drink in his tavern. To his surprise, Jiao discovers that the soldier is, in fact, a woman in disguise. Meanwhile, the soldier learns that Jiao is after her border pass. The two break into a fight. Jiao reveals that he is a general of the Yang family, while the soldier discloses that she is the eighth daughter of the Yang family. As a result, the two cross the border together to return home.

Main Cast: Huang Haiwei, Yin Lianlian

Excerpt Wu Song Killing His Sister-in-Law (Tanxi)

This is a tanxi piece with the remarkable feat of flicking of flowing sleeves. The feats and artistic measures are employed to tell the story, portray the characters and convey the characters’ fluctuating emotions.

Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing collaborate and kill Pan’s husband Wu Dalang with poison. Hearing this, Dalang’s brother Song kills Ximen Qing and brings his severed head to the mourning hall, intending to kill Pan to avenge his brother’s death. Pan, well aware of her impending death, waits quietly in the hall for Song’s arrival. Before her death, Pan makes the excuse of wishing to toast Song with three cups of wine to lament the inevitability of her fate while confessing her love for Song. However, Song remains unmoved after the toast, with his desire to avenge his brother’s death still fervent. Finally, Song kills Pan with his sword, using her blood to pay tribute to his brother’s departed soul.

Main Cast: Zhang Yan, Xie Zhanghong

Excerpt The Injustice Done to Dou E (Tanxi)

The Injustice Done to Dou E is a tanxi piece for the role of qingyi (virtuous female), with an exquisite performance that evokes strong emotions in the audience. Protagonist Dou E’s sorrowful and poignant singing, which recounts the injustice done to her, is incredibly moving. Through the feats of ‘hair flip’ and ‘stance fix’, Dou E’s despair and helplessness elicit sympathy from everyone.

Zhang Luer and his father try to seize Dou E and her mother-in-law Cai. Zhang poisons the food in an attempt to kill Cai, but his father eats it instead and dies. Zhang accuses Dou E of poisoning his father. Dou E is wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death. Snow falls unexpectedly on the day of her execution in June, crying out for justice for her.

Main Cast: Liu Yi, Liu Dandan, Li Ke

Excerpt Holding a Candle to Burn His Books (Gaoqiang)

This is a gaoqiang piece and an excerpt from the famous Sichuan Opera repertoire The Scholar from Bashan. Using the melody of the Sichuan Opera gaoqiang set-tune Jiangtougui, the rhythm of the scholar’s core singing segment has been revised according to the mood of the lyrics. Modern composition skill is fully utilised to produce a strong rhythmic melody to express the actor’s fluctuating mood and vigorous conflict, allowing the music to follow the plot development and evolve with the characters.

Bashan scholar Meng Dengke escapes death in the wrongful case of Bashan and tries to seek justice for the village folk who died wrongfully. However, due to his bookishness, his petition for justice is futile and results in physical suffering instead. After due consideration, Meng decides to go all in, burn the petition and appeal again, swearing to fight for justice for the wrongfully killed.

Main Cast: Chen Zhilin, Liu Yan

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

Information provided by the arts groups

Sichuan Opera Troupe

Established in 1960, the Sichuan Opera Troupe is an important unit for the inheritance of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Currently there are one national and four provincial exponents of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in the troupe. Over its 60-year history, the troupe has been following the policy of ‘free expression and free competition’ to create and perform more than 200 outstanding traditional and modern repertoires, including A Marriage as a Peace Pact, Changing Face, The Scholar from Bashan, Actor Bold Yi, The Diligent Magistrate and The Legend of the White Snake. Among them, A Marriage as a Peace Pact has won the Outstanding Screenplay and Outstanding Performance Award. Changing Face, Actor Bold Yi and The Scholar from Bashan have twice received the Top Ten Outstanding Repertoires in the National Theatrical Art Excellent Project, the Wenhua Award from the Ministry of Culture and the Outstanding Work Award in the ‘Five One Project Awards’. The Diligent Magistrate has won national awards, including the 17th Wenhua Award from the Ministry of Culture and the Outstanding Drama Award at the Chinese Theatre Festival.

Apart from the troupe’s rich repertoires, the troupe members have also won multiple significant awards. At present, there are seven recipients of the China Theatre Plum Blossom Award, 29 recipients of the National Wenhua Award, 24 recipients of the Chinese Theatre Outstanding Performance Award and four recipients of the Shanghai White Magnolia Theatre Award in the troupe. The troupe has footprints all over the country and has travelled overseas on performance tours to the United States, Germany, France, Japan, Korea and Thailand.

Sichuan Opera

Sichuan Opera is one of the oldest and most widespread regional theatrical forms in China. It took shape during the reigns of Qing Emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong in the 18th century and became popular in Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Hubei. Sichuan Opera stands out among the various theatrical genres of the area, with its rich vernacular colour. It has a fantastic, magical and gamesome charm that is both rustic and refreshing, reflecting the exceptional artistic experience of the Sichuan region. Sichuan Opera has assimilated the vocal features of other genres and the vernacular features of local dialect, with its sung music grew from one singing style into a hybrid of five styles: kunqiang, gaoqiang (high pitch), huqin, tanxi and dengxi. The diverse and rich repertoire of Sichuan Opera consists of over six thousand plays, and despite its ancient lineage, it remains popular for its closeness to life. Sichuan Opera performances are lively and full of changes, with stunts to depict character and mood. The humour and wisdom of Sichuan Opera are famous, and are enjoyed by audiences. In 2006, it was inscribed onto the first list of Intangible Cultural Heritage at National Level.