Chinese opera of Ming dynasty to be staged for first time in city
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Mumbai:
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This December, an NRI based
in the US is bringing the most famous play of the Chinese Ming dynasty
to Mumbai and Delhi for the first time. `The Peony Pavilion' will be
enacted in Mandarin with English subtitles on a giant screen beside the
stage. `Peony Pavilion' is an opera of the Kunqu style. Written by Tang Xianzu, it was first performed in 1598.
The event is being organised by US-based Bharatanatyam dancer Swati Bhise, who is the artistic director of Goa's Bravia Sadir Theatre Festival. She says, “The Kunqu (pronounced `kun shu') style of opera is the mother of the Beijing Opera. It was considered an elitist art form given that it was performed for em perors of the Ming dynasty . It is extremely stylised and has elaborate costumes. The costumes and make-up are the most time-consuming aspect of the act.“ This lyrical form uses a lot of martial arts movements and was incorpo rated in Unesco's heritage list in 2001. The team arriving in Mumbai includes 18 artistes, each trained for various tasks.Each may play traditional musical instruments on one day, act or sing and dance another time or manage costumes for the cast. Kunqu uses minimum props on stage.
`The Peony Pavilion' is a classic about a pair of starcrossed lovers, like Romeo and Juliet, except that they never met. “ A girl named Du has been locked away in a room by a strict governess and is seldom allowed to step outside. One day her maid takes her into the garden to see the birds and flowers, where she falls asleep and dreams of a man named Li.Du falls in love with him though she has never seen him, but dies before they can meet. Later a scholar named Liu falls in love with her portrait,“ says Bhise.
The original version is 19 hours long, but Bhise and translator Joanna Lee, an American who has studied the art form, have condensed it into an hour and a half. Performances are scheduled in Mumbai on December 9 and in New Delhi on December 12.
The event is being organised by US-based Bharatanatyam dancer Swati Bhise, who is the artistic director of Goa's Bravia Sadir Theatre Festival. She says, “The Kunqu (pronounced `kun shu') style of opera is the mother of the Beijing Opera. It was considered an elitist art form given that it was performed for em perors of the Ming dynasty . It is extremely stylised and has elaborate costumes. The costumes and make-up are the most time-consuming aspect of the act.“ This lyrical form uses a lot of martial arts movements and was incorpo rated in Unesco's heritage list in 2001. The team arriving in Mumbai includes 18 artistes, each trained for various tasks.Each may play traditional musical instruments on one day, act or sing and dance another time or manage costumes for the cast. Kunqu uses minimum props on stage.
`The Peony Pavilion' is a classic about a pair of starcrossed lovers, like Romeo and Juliet, except that they never met. “ A girl named Du has been locked away in a room by a strict governess and is seldom allowed to step outside. One day her maid takes her into the garden to see the birds and flowers, where she falls asleep and dreams of a man named Li.Du falls in love with him though she has never seen him, but dies before they can meet. Later a scholar named Liu falls in love with her portrait,“ says Bhise.
The original version is 19 hours long, but Bhise and translator Joanna Lee, an American who has studied the art form, have condensed it into an hour and a half. Performances are scheduled in Mumbai on December 9 and in New Delhi on December 12.
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