Tianjin Peking Opera Troupe
Peking opera is one of the most influential forms of traditional Chinese opera and has existed for nearly two hundred years. The Tianjin Peking Opera Troupe has been performing for nearly twenty years and will perform three classic Peking operas as part of the Chinese Film and Culture Festival.
Time: Tuesday, October 18, 7:30-9:30pm.
Location: Roone Arledge Auditorium, Alfred Lerner Hall (by Broadway Av./W. 115th St.).
Ticket Information: Open to the public without ticket requirement.
Picking Up the Jade Bracelet
Performed by Liu Shuyun (as Sun Yujiao) and Ji Peng (as Fu Peng)
Set during the Peng Dynasty, Pick Up the Jade Bracelet is a village love story in which two young people, Sun Yujiao and Fu Peng, fall in love and are helped by a neighboring match maker. Sun Yujiao enjoys doing embroidery in front of her family home and is seen at her work by Fu Peng, who falls in love with her. At first she does not feel the same. Fu Ming drops a jade bracelet on the ground for Sun Yujiao to express his love for her. She picks it up, knowing it's from Fu Peng, to signal her love for him.
The Crossroads
Performed by Li Jicheng (as Ren Tanghui) and Liu Shujun (as Liu Lihua)
This is a typical wu xi, or show with martial arts. During the Song Dynasty, General Jiao Zan was exiled to Samana Island after killing a traitor, Xie Jinwu, Wang Qinruo's son-in-law. When Jiao Zan is being escorted to his exile, they stay at an inn at a crossroads run by Liu Lihua. Ren Tanghui, having received secret orders to protect the general, rushes to the inn to stay there. Ren Tanghui and Liu Lihua engage in a fierce battle because Liu Lihua mistakenly believes that Ren Tanghui is plotting to murder Jiao Zan. The fight is waged in the dark and the identities of those involved aren't clear until a candle is finally lit. The situation is then cleared up.
Farewell My Concubine
Performed by Yang Guang (as Xiang Yu) and Zhao Xiujun (as Yi Ji)
The story tells the tragedy of Xiang Yu, a great warrior, and his beloved concubine who lived more than 2,000 years ago. The warrior is defeated and surrounded. In the army tent, his concubine tries to lighten him up with dancing and singing before killing herself with a sword. The warrior ends his life with the sword, too. The play ends in deaths but is filled with a heroic spirit. The heroine is composed and brave, knowing what she should do in a doomed situation. Her singing is gentle and moving. The Sword Dance is one of the most appealing acts of this play.