This opera is an adaptation of King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s four great tragedies. Wu Xing-guo plays ten different roles in this one-man show. He demonstrates many elements in Beijing Opera, playing such roles as lao-sheng( old male characters), chou ( comic characters),and hua-dan (young and vibrant female characters) before he plays himself as real-life actor to emphasize the concept that a “human searches for his true self through performing.” This opera has been staged in 33 cities and 16 countries and is certainly the troupe’s most frequently performed opera abroad. It is also a representative opera classic in the acting career of Wu Xing-guo.

In the opera, King Lear divides his legacy to his eldest and second daughters, who know how to sweet talk but are in fact heartless. The true words of his youngest daughter anger her father who is blinded by the sweet talk, so she not only gains nothing from her father, but is sent into exile. However, King Lear, who has lost everything, soon finds himself an outcast and suffers all kinds of hardships. The youngest daughter bears her father no ill will and saves him, sending troops to do battle against her two sisters. The subplot of Duke Gloucester and his two sons in the original play is changed to be part of King Lear’s story. In the second act, King Lear, believing the words of the lying bastard son, chases after and tries to kill his son. But in the end, when he becomes blind after he is poisoned by the bastard son and wanders around in the wilderness, he meets a madman who is in fact his son in disguise. The two finally acknowledge each other as the son forgives his father.