Staging a classic, with a twist
A time-honored Beijing theater presents a new take on The Peony Pavilion, which has long stood as one of the most celebrated Kunqu Opera, Chen Nan reports.
The stage adaptation of The Peony Pavilion has been tailored specially for the Zhengyici Theater, also known as Temple Theater Beijing Opera House, which is believed to be the only wooden theater of its kind preserved in the country, and is over 300 years old.
As Shi stands on the second floor, he strikes a gong three times and narrates the opening line of the show. As the lights dim, he steps down from the stage. When the lights turn on again, the protagonist, a beautiful young woman named Du Liniang, appears.
In The Peony Pavilion Du falls in love with Liu Mengmei, a handsome scholar she meets in a dream. She wakes up and finds that her longing for the man is so strong that it gradually causes her to fall ill and die. After her death, she persuades the judge of the underworld to grant her permission to return as a ghost to find him. She eventually finds Liu, who is staying at the family temple where she is buried. The two stay together lovingly for a while. When he opens Du's coffin, his love for her is so powerful that it brings her back to life, and they live happily ever after.
