Shanghai Grand Theatre’s annual Chinese Opera Festival, complete with English subtitles, kicks off April 12 and shines a spotlight on the acclaimed Taiwanese Guoguang’s Chinese Opera Actor Trilogy.
Formed in 1995, the troupe is widely respected for incorporating performance techniques in an attempt to widen the parameters of Peking Opera. Their interpretations of contemporary novels have been hailed for making this traditional art form more appealing to younger audiences.
Their latest shows took nearly five years to complete under the supervision of famed director Max Lee and is their most avant-garde yet.
The festival launches with the biopic Meng Xiaoding about the iconic Peking Opera actress best known for performing male roles alongside Mei Lanfang. Peking opera diva Wei Haimin shines as Meng and the show touches on her brilliant career and romances with Mei and gangster Du Yuesheng. The show will also feature live music provided by a band made up of 60 members of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra.
Flowing Sleeves and Rouge (April 15-16) astounds with its fantastical backdrop of the imaginary world of theater and is inspired by the ancient Chinese fantasy Romance of the Flowers in the Mirror. The show will showcase the troupe’s efforts to push the boundaries of staging.
The closing show is the ambitious One Hundred Years on Stage that follows the development of Peking Opera over the past century. It’s a bold play that breaks down the evolution of the art form’s vocals and performance techniques while unflinchingly look at the difficulties that it endured during the Cultural Revolution.
// Apr 12-19, RMB80-380. Shanghai Grand Theatre, 300 Renmin Da Dao, by Huangpi Bei Lu 人民大道300号, 近黄陂北路 (400 621 3721, en.damai.cn)
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