In the Spring and Autumn Era the Kings of Wu and Yue had been competing with each other for over twenty years. Fan Li was forced to send his lover Xishi to the King of Wu, Fu-chai, to corrupt his morale. It had proved to be the critical factor that allowed Yue to finally overthrow Wu. The playwright...Read more
In the Spring and Autumn Era the Kings of Wu and Yue had been competing with each other for over twenty years. Fan Li was forced to send his lover Xishi to the King of Wu, Fu-chai, to corrupt his morale. It had proved to be the critical factor that allowed Yue to finally overthrow Wu. The playwright/arts director Wang You-hui employed objects ingeniously to weave up the plots. One strand of gauze binds up Fan Li and Xishi's love. The horsewhip is used to remind the King and his subjects not to forget the shame of their nation now conquered. The play also elaborates on the mental state of Fan Li, of how he would rather sacrifice his life than exchange his lover for political advantage.
Nicked-named A-Niu, Zhang Xiu-qin is lauded as the Southern Emperor of Taiwanese Opera. In this performance, she portrayed the literary- and military-capable Fan Li with her magnetic singing style. She rendered Fan Li's torment and bitterness with deep affection. The leading dan, Zhuang Jin-mei embodied the exceedingly beautiful Xishi, who is willing to sacrifice everything for her lover, with soliloquies and dancing. Wen Zhong, played by Mi Xue is both stubbornly loyal and very unfeeling.
The director, Liu Guang-tong, excels at theatrical effects. When staging the critical scene of 「Offering the Beauty,」 Xishi arrived on stage in a palanquin carried by four men who traversed among the seated audience and the orchestra box to the stage, breaking the boundary between stage and audience, and drawing rounds and rounds of delighted applause from the audience.
Category | Xiqu(Traditional Opera) |
Type | Taiwanese Opera |
Chinese Title | 范蠡獻西施 |
Group | ShiuKim Taiwanese Opera Troupe |
Creative staff | ShiuKim Taiwanese Opera Troupe |
Subtitle | Mandarin Chinese |
Premiere | 2005-07-01 |
Venue | The Metropolitan Hall, Taipei |
Duration | 160min |
Image Source | |
Other Works | Legend Of Tang Dynasty New Taiwanese Opera-Remembering 14An-Ping |