Revisiting a Fine Selection of Cantonese Opera：The Cosmic Mirror (Five Generations on Stage)
Xiqu
Description
Description
Premiered in 2005 by Elmond’s Workshop, this Cantonese Opera with a mythical theme about human goodness has had two reruns by popular demand among Cantonese Opera fans.
The mythical world is an embodiment of almost all possible imaginings. It is therefore an enduring theme in traditional Chinese opera. In this restaged production, there will be additional celestials to the dramatis personae, such as the Eight Immortals, the Sun God, the Moon Goddess, the Literary and Martial Gods, God of Fortune, Goddess of Mercy, the Golden Boy, the Jade Girl, the four sagacious hermits of the Fisherman, the Woodcutter, the Farmer and the Scholar, the creatures in the underwater Dragon Palace, the four Demons and the Gods of Wind, Thunder, Rain and Lightning, thus creating a visually magnificent tableau of Buddhist and Taoist super beings.
The Cosmic Mirror is a treasure with deep allegorical significance. The Celestial King of Beiming (the Northernmost Seas), who has achieved a thousand years of magic cultivation, has the material gratification of the mortal world at his fingertips. He questions the beneficent Buddhist spirit of universal salvation. Goddess of Mercy, therefore, decrees that he should be demoted to the mortal world, but at the same time sending other celestials such as the Eight Immortals and God Skanda to assist him.
Humankind is invariably concerned with their own pleasures and negligent of mercy and love for others. The Celestial King of Beiming undergoes extreme poverty and sufferings before he finally succeeds as an immortal. But on the day, he, as a mortal called Du Shuancheng, is named Top Scholar in the civil service examination, news arrives that the region north of the Yangtze River is flooded. The emperor orders him to find the Cosmic Mirror for disaster relief.
In his search for the magical mirror, his dear ones and good friends all lay down their lives for his cause.
Will the many trials and tribulations, a microcosm of all the joys and sorrows of human experience, sublimate into the noble spirit of altruism? This is the theme that this play purports to explore.
The playwright believes in the pursuit of this noble spirit in life and is therefore sharing it with the audience.
Production：Elmond’s Workshop
Director：Liu Xun
Artistic Director / Playwright：Yeung Chi-sum
Info
$140
$320
Indoor
Local
