On November 29th to 30th, the "Blooming Mei Flowers - Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Plum Performance Award in Chinese Theater" Jingju (Peking Opera) special performance took place at the Lao She Theater. Six Plum Performance Award winners, including Chi Xiaoqiu, Li Hongtu, Zhang Jianfeng, Yang Shaopeng, Zhang Xinyue, and Chang Qiuyue, each presented their representative works, providing a feast for drama enthusiasts.

On the evening of November 30th, the performance opened with a segment from "Xie Yaohuan·Huayuan," starring Zhang Xinyue, a National First-Class Performer of the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera Troupe of the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre. As she sang lines like "Having endured nine years in the deep palace, thinking it was a deep lock behind red walls burying this life..." the audience couldn't help but applaud. Following this, Zhang Jianfeng, a distinguished youth performer of the Xipai (West School) from the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre, presented a segment from "Fan Jin Zhong Ju," delivering a performance with rich and mellow vocal tones. Lastly, the renowned Peking Opera artist Chi Xiaoqiu starred in a segment from the classic Chengpai (程派) play "San Niang Jiao Zi·Ji Fang," bringing the performance to a close amidst enthusiastic applause from the audience.

It is reported that the China Plum Performance Award for Drama was established in 1983 and is jointly sponsored by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles(CFLAC) and the Chinese Theatre Association. It is the highest award for theatrical performance arts in China. As of 2023, 31 sessions of the award ceremony have been held, with a total of 66 recipients in the Beijing area, including 5 who have received the "Second Plum Performance Award." Among these, Peking Opera performance art boasts the most winners, totaling 28 individuals.

The "Blooming Mei Flowers" Peking Opera special performance was organized by Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles（BFLAC） and was simultaneously broadcast on multiple platforms. The event aimed to expand the supply of high-quality cultural products, better meet the new expectations for the spiritual and cultural life of the people, enhance the cultural sense of achievement and happiness of the masses, and encourage cultural and artistic workers to maintain cultural confidence, adhere to tradition, innovate, and carry forward the historical context.

Translator: BAI Jing

Reviewer: LIU Jin