LÜ Bu & Diaochan

2017-10-18

Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts - Theatre

Dates: October 24-26, 2017

LÜ Bu & Diaochan

In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty of China, DONG Zhuo, who has grabbed all the power, conspires with his valiant foster son LÜ Bu to usurp the throne. The Minister WANG Yun wants to eliminate the traitor, but is at a loss as to what to do. The singing girl Diaochan, who is very beautiful and knows where her loyalty belongs, offers to help WANG Yun to eliminate the traitor by a set of interlocking stratagems. WANG Yun promises Diaochan to LÜ Bu, but then gives her to DONG Zhuo, thus setting LÜ Bu and DONG Zhuo against each other. LÜ Bu devises a stratagem with WANG Yun that a false imperial edict would be proclaimed to order DONG Zhuo to go to court, and DONG Zhuo is killed in the palace. Finally, LÜ Bu is reunited with Diaochan.

Cast

LÜ Bu: LI Hongtu

Diaochan: GUO Wei

DONG Zhuo: CHEN Junjie

WANG Yun: HAN Shengcun

The Chinese Orphan

In the Warring States period, Duke Ling of Jin is tyrannical and closes his ears to ZHAO Dun’s admonishment. Then the evil minister TU’AN Gu cruelly kills ZHAO Dun and his family members. ZHAO Dun’s wife Princess Zhuangji seeks shelter in the palace, where she gives birth to a boy, who was then rescued by ZHAO’s hanger-on CHENG Ying in disguise. Hearing that the princess had given birth to a son, TU’AN Gu enters the palace to look for the orphan, but fails. He orders massacre of all infants born in the country on the same day if the orphan couldn’t be found within three days. CHENG Ying and GONGSUN Chu worked out a stratagem that CHENG would sacrifice his son and GONGSUN Chu would give up his life to save the orphan. Later, the orphan grows up. CHEN Ying tells the orphan what happened in the past through drawing. Then, the orphan and WEI Jiang devise a scheme to wreak vengeance on TU’AN Gu.

Cast

CHENG Ying: ZHU Qiang

Princess Zhuangji: DOU Xiaoxuan

ZHAO Wu: LI Hongtu

WEI Jiang: CHEN Junjie

TU’AN Gu: HUANG Yanzhong

ZHAO Dun: HAN Shengcun

HAN Gu: WANG Xueqing

PIAO Feng: WANG Yueling

GONGSUN Chu: NI Shengchun

The Story Of SU San

An official’s child WANG Jinlong swears to the well-known prostitute SU San that he will love her till the end of their lives, but he is then driven away after he has spent all his money and leads a dog’s life in Guanwang Temple. Hearing that, SU San goes to the temple and gives money to WANG so that he could return to Nanjing. Later, the bawd sells SU San to a man to be his concubine, but the man’s wife PI lodges a false accusation against SU San. The county magistrate takes bribes and condemns SU San to death. She is sent under guard to Taiyuan to stand trial, but on the way to Taiyuan, the guard CHONG Gongdao, who feels sympathy for her, adopts her as a daughter. WANG Jinlong, who had secured an official position as the governor of Shanxi, comes to try the case and learns that the criminal is SU San. Later, with help from the financial commissioner PAN Bizheng and the provincial judge LIU Bingyi, he is reunited with SU San.

Cast

SU San: CHANG Qiuyue

WANG Jinlong: LI Hongtu

LIU Bingyi: SONG Haoyu

PAN Bizheng: NI Shengchun

CHONG Gongdao: HUANG Boxue

Presenter

Established in 1979, Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing is the largest professional performing arts ensembles of Peking Opera in China. The theatre not only plays a key role in China's traditional opera circle but also enjoys a high overseas reputation. In the process of establishment and development of its arts brand, numerous performing artists made a great contribution, such as the "Four Major Masters of Female Characters" of MEI Lanfang, SHANG Xiaoyun, CHENG Yanqiu, XUN Huisheng, as well as masters of other schools including MA Lianliang, TAN Fuying, ZHANG Junqiu, QIU Shengrong, ZHAO Yanxia, etc. They have left valuable wealth to the theatre.

Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing is also a home of contemporary elites. The gold prize winners of China Drama Plum Blossom Award, MEI Lanfang Award, and the National Peking Opera Competition have formed a major force of the theatre. Outstanding contemporary works of Chancellor LIU Luoguo (an opera of serialized performance), Symphonic Peking Opera MEI Lanfang, The Ode of the River Goddess and YUAN Chonghuan (newly-adapted historical operas) as well as studio-theatre Peking Operas of Splashing Water before the Horse, YAN Xijiao and other excellent pieces have won awards in successive years in a variety of state-level competitions. These achievements represent the constant efforts made by the Jingju Theatre Company of Beijing to reinvigorate Peking Opera and reach a new peak of the performing art of Peking opera.

In addition, the theatre is active in both the domestic and foreign stages. Till now they have left their footprints over all five continents and more than 50 countries and regions.

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