Directed by Dai Jun-fang, Romance of the Red Chamber is an opera based on The Dream of the Red Chamber and The Xiqu Collections of the Dreams of the Red Chamber. In the opera, the rock of Qing-geng Peak is transformed into Bao-yu and lives a romantic life with all the girls in the Grand View Garden,...Read more
Directed by Dai Jun-fang, Romance of the Red Chamber is an opera based on The Dream of the Red Chamber and The Xiqu Collections of the Dreams of the Red Chamber. In the opera, the rock of Qing-geng Peak is transformed into Bao-yu and lives a romantic life with all the girls in the Grand View Garden, absorbing the beauty and the confusion of the youths and observing their sincere feelings and suspicions in the early development of the red chamber. Li Yi-xiu plays Rock, who takes another journey to the mundane world with the new perspective he gained from his previous disastrous adventure. The opera was first produced in March 2014 and was immediately nominated for awards at the Thirteenth Tai Shin Arts Awards.
The opera combines two ancient tunes: Kunqu and Nanguan. Nanguan is used to present the ancient myth of the rock, while Kunqu is used to show youthful awakening and the romantic affairs of the Grand View Garden. The setting adopts the treasure box style, viewing the world of the red chamber from a microcosmic perspective of a treasure box. With the help of multi-media imagery and lighting, when this world collapses, the treasure box instantly becomes a graveyard with bones, which shows the transient nature of the mundane world.
The main character Jia Bao-yu is played by Yang Han-ru, a famous Kunqu opera xiao-sheng actor. Lin Dai-yu is played by Ling Jia-lin, a young dan actor of Guo Guang Opera Company. Xie Li-ying, a dan actor who was a member of Shuimo Kunqu Opera Troupe, plays Xue Bao-chai. Li Yi-xiu plays several roles, including Rock and Ming-yan. All four actors perform in great length in the opera.
Category | Xiqu(Traditional Opera) |
Type | Kunqu Opera |
Chinese Title | 風月 |
Group | 1/2 Q Theatre |
Subtitle | Mandarin Chinese /English |
Premiere | 2014-03-28 |
Venue | Experimental Theater,Taipei |
Duration | 95min |
Image Source | |
Other Works | Willow Dreams of Plum Portrait of Love |