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3-Generations of Peking Opera Performers Gathered in Shanghai
Outstanding performers staged a series of famous excerpts of Peking Opera in Shanghai as from November 27. The four-day events added much luster to the 2nd Shanghai International Art Festival.
Brought onto the stage in the four-day performance were three well-known selections from traditional Peking Opera: A Heated Debate Among Heroes at an Assembly, Borrowing East Wind - a decisive factor of victory and Hua Rong Dao - a narrow strategic path and Also on show were some newly-composed scenes of historic topics in Peking Opera, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu, and some 17 creme de la creme pieces performed by noted artists.
Participated on invitation in the four-day events are twenty-two famous artists of different ages. They include Li Huifang, the 77-year-old chingyi of the Mei School, the 73-year-old Tan Yuanshou, a foremost exponent of the Tan School, and the 23-year Wang Peiyu, Lao Sheng of the Yu school, the youngest of them all.
A Heated Debate among Heroes at an Assembly is an excerpt from "A Tale of Three Kingdoms" (220-265) (Wei, Shu Han and Wu). Eight prominent actors and actresses were invited to play different roles in the opera. For instance, Li Changchun acted as Huang Gai, Ye Shaolan taking up the part of Zhou Yu and Tan Yuanshou the part of Lu Su while Sun Zhengyang the role of Jiang Gan, Rong Changrong that of Cao Cao and Xi Zhonglu, the invincible Zhao Yun and Guan Huai as Guan Yu yet Zhuge Liang was played by Yan Xingpeng, who had just come back after finishing his postgraduate study in the USA.
As reported, twenty excellent actors and actresses across the Straits gave a wonderful performance in the above-mentioned series (a folk-art form, in which artists put on one scene in the wake of the other). They are from 14 schools of Peking Opera, taking up the roles of Sheng, Tan and Ching. Apart from the four middle-aged bearded Shengs of reputation, Mei Baojiu, the son of Mei Lanfang, the late master of Peking Opera, presented excerpt of Drunken Imperial Consort Yang.
By PD Online staff Yin Zhili
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