Peking Opera Festival in The Hague

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Peking Opera Festival in The Hague

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Peking Opera Festival in The Hague

海牙京剧艺术节

The Lucent Danstheatre is with a great honor to present this traditional and extraordinary Chinese performing arts no less than three times, exclusively in The Hague.

Peking Opera is an ancient art form rarely seen outside China, therefore, it is for many a unique opportunity to admire this world famous performing art in the Netherlands. The 60-membered group is composed of the best Chinese artists who have been trained in the specific style of the Peking Opera since their childhood. It is a colorful mixture of traditional music, dance, poetry, acrobatics and martial arts.

Peking Opera Festival consists of three different programs three nights in a row:  

 

May 21 2013             20:15

Peking Opera Gala
At the Cross Roads
 

During the Northern Song Dynasty General Jiao Zan is exiled to a desert island after being framed for a crime. Warrior Ren Tanghui is ordered to trail after Jiao Zan to protect and rescue him. When Jiao Zan comes to rest in an inn at the Crossroads, the owner of the inn, who also acknowledges Jiao Zan's innocence, mistakes Ren Tanghui for an assassin set to murder Jiao Zan. As the misunderstanding ensues, the two fight fiercely in the dark.

 

May 22 2013             20:15

The Red Maid

The play is set in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). A scholar named Zhang Gong is travelling to Chang'an to take part in an exam. When he stops one night at the Pujiu Temple, he meets the prime minister's daughter Cui Yingying. Astonished by her beauty, he immediately falls in love with her. He decides to stay and accommodates himself in the Western Chamber. In order to get closer to her, he sends her letters through her maidservant, the Red Maid. One day, the leader of the bandits, Sun Feihu, attacks the temple and forces Yingying to marry him. Facing this desperate situation, Yingying's mother Mrs. Cui promises that the person, capable of defeating the bandits will be allowed to marry her daughter. When Zhang Gong hears of her words, he writes to his friend, a general, asking for help.

After the defeat of the bandits, Mrs. Cui surprisingly changes her mind and denies Zhang Gong to marry Yingying, but the Red Maid helps them to exchange messages and arranges dates at the Western Chamber. When Mrs. Cui learns about their private encounters, she interrogates the Red Maid under torture. In the end, the Red Maid manages to make Mrs. Cui approve their relationship.

 

May 23 2013             20:15

The Legend of the White Snake

This piece is a Chinese legend, which has been used as a popular subject in several Chinese operas, films and television series. The story tells of a young scholar Xu Xian who falls in love with a beautiful woman, unaware that she is actually a thousand-year-old white snake that has taken on human form. A monk named Fahai, envious of their love, devises many wicked plans in order to separate the couple. After many trials and tribulations, the white snake and Xu Xian are reunited.