Venue: Theatre

Dates: November 16-19, 2017

Duration: Approximate 145 mins (No intermissions)

About

HONG Sheng (1645-1704), a famous litterateur and dramatist in the Qing Dynasty, is the writer of the drama The Palace of Eternal Youth, which took over ten years to create based on the Tang Dynasty poem Everlasting Regret and Zaju of Yuan Dynasty Raindrops on the Phoenix Tree. The draft was revised three times before its completion.

HONG Sheng depicted pure love between Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty LI Longji and the consort YANG Yuhuan in a context of the historical event “An-Shi Rebellion” and the Tang Dynasty’s downfall from the pinnacle of its power. With a wild imagination, he made the characters travel throughout the world, hell and heaven at will, and talk with one another sincerely, be they humans, ghosts or immortals.

Shanghai Kuqu Opera Troupe’s full-fledged version of The Palace of Eternal Youth contains over 30 highlights that have never been inherited or performed, which are re-introduced and originated based on the traditional opera highlights. The performance, character figures, singing tune and music have been widely accepted among audience.

On the 10th anniversary of its production, this full-fledged version of The Palace of Eternal Youth will tour around China for the first time during the 2017 performing season. As a serial opera, it will be performed on four evenings at NCPA according to the following schedule.

November 16th, 2017

The Hairpin Case as a Token of Love

November 17th, 2017

The Rainbow-Coloured and Feathered Costume

November 18th, 2017

The Mawei Incident

November 19th, 2017

The Reunion in the Moon Palace

Instructing Institutions: Shanghai Municipal Government Promotion Department, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film & TV, Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, China Theatre Association

Synopsis

During Tianbao years in Tang Dynasty, a beauty named YANG Yuhuan has been titled Guifei by Emperor Ming of Tang Dynasty because of her gorgeous beauty and talented gift in terms of singing and dancing. However, the An-Shi Rebellion broke out and it shattered and destroyed the beautiful dream of Emperor Ming of Tang Dynasty and YANG Guifei.

Presenter

Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe

Established in 1978, the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe (SKOT) is national Kunqu institution in China, which is currently led by Ms. GU Haohao. With Kunqu Maestro Yu Zhenfei as its first president, SKOT possesses a group of outstanding artists among which 15 of them are national/ provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage inheritors, while nine of them has attained the Plum Blossom Prize, and two of them are the awardees of Chinese Government Cultural Award. The troupe has also constantly demonstrated its brilliance in various national theatrical competitions, including the China Art Festival, the Shanghai Magnolia Drama contest and the China Kunqu Festival, etc. The accomplishment of Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe has further been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, which claims that SKOT is “a first class theatrical institution with first class of actors, repertoires and performances.”