This content is only available in Chinese

This content is only available in Chinese

“Mourning from Qin Xuemei”
This excerpt from the traditional repertoire Qin Xuemei is heartbreaking with beautiful poignant lyrics.Qin Xuemei has been betrothed to Shang Lin since childhood. With the decline of the Shang family fortune, Qin’s father forces Lin to rescind the betrothal. Lin dies out of frustration. Hearing the news, Xuemei goes to Lin’s grave to mourn for him and unfold her inner
feelings.

“Executing His Own Son”
This excerpt is a signature piece for the xusheng role, Based on the story of the Yang Warriors in Northern Song dynasty on their unflinching loyalty to defend the country against barbarian invasion. Infuriated at learning about his son Zongbao’s act of looking for a wife in the battlefield, Commander Yang ties Zongbao up at the gate pending execution. His mother Lady She and Eighth Prince come to the camp to beg for mercy but are rejected. Mu Guiying comes to defect bringing along her troop and agrees to help them to defeat the Tianmen battle formation. Realizing the nation is more important Commander Yang releases Zongbao and asks him and Mu to lead the army to battle.

“The Fight from Close Combat with the Spears”
Also named Romance of the Spears, it is a traditional repertoire of the Ma School. Jiang Guizhi’s performance requires both strength and tenderness and the spear fight is remarkable.
Jiang Guizhi brings along her sons and grandsons to go to reunite with her husband Luo Yi at Wagang Camp but Luo refuses to recognize her for fear of causing his son Luo Cheng misunderstanding. Infuriated, Jiang challenges him to fight her in a battle. Luo is defeated and falls down from the horse. After Jiang explaining to him the turns of event, Luo finally recognizes her and reunites with the family.

“Tying up Chen Shimei and On Seeing the Emperor’s Aunt from Tale of Qin Xianglian”
The two excerpts are from the traditional Yu Opera repertoire Tale of Qin Xianglian. Judge Bao is a jing (painted face) role, known as heitou in Yu Opera. His solo singing is robust and powerful with unique vocalization. Qin Xianglian goes to the capital to find her husband Chen Shimei with her children but Chen refuses to recognize them and asks Han Qi to pursue and kill them. Escaping successfully, Qin files a suit to Judge Bao. After learning the story, Bao arrests Chen and sentences him to death. Despite the Imperial Aunt wreaking havoc at his courtroom and the Imperial Mother begging for mercy, Bao refuses to pardon Chen. Finally Chen is executed to redress the injustice.

“The Outpouring from Cheng Ying Saving the Orphan of the Zhao’s”
This excerpt is the climax of the drama with the core aria which is poignant and immensely moving. It is the classic representative piece of the Henan West Li School. To save the Zhao’s orphan, Cheng Ying has suffered a lot for sixteen years. When he learns that the Commander has returned, he goes to try to tell him the truth. Without knowing the head and tail of the matter, the Commander beats him up heavily. Bearing the pain, Cheng relates to everyone the blood and tears he has shed in the sixteen years in bringing up the Zhao’s orphan.

Adapted from the traditional repertoire At Qingfeng Pavilion, The Breezy Pavilion boasts of a dramatic story and a rich presentation with refined music and singing. The theme goes beyond traditional morality to focus on the characters’ destiny and emotions exposing the very depth of human nature.

Scene One Picking up the baby
On their way home from the lantern festival fair, Zhang Yuanxiu and his wife discover an abandoned baby at the Breezy Pavilion. They name him Zhang Jibao and take him home for adoption. Meanwhile, the baby’s mother, Zhou Guiying (Second Madam) is looking for her son in vain.

Scene Two Raising the boy Little
Jibao returns from school and asks Zhang and his wife about his birth parents. After being denied an answer, Jibao runs away from home. Zhang chases after him.

Scene Three Returning the son
Jibao arrives at the Breezy Pavilion and meets Zhou Guiying by chance. Zhou asks about his parents. Zhang Yuanxiu catches up and arrives at the pavilion too. He questions Zhou for her curiosity. After Zhou explained her story, Zhang painfully agrees to give up
little Jibao to let Zhou take him away.

Scene Four Searching for the son
Zhang’s wife is devastated on learning little Jibao has been taken away. She gets extremely upset and turns blind out of missing her son too much. The Zhang couple decides to leave home to go searching for their son.

Scene Five Changing
Three years later, Jibao has grown into a young man in the Xue mansion. Threatened by the force of the first madam, Jibao gradually
changes his mindset.

Scene Six Denial
Jibao gains the Top Scholar title and returns to his native town for a visit. Zhang and his wife also arrive there looking for their son while begging. Upon hearing the good news, they are delighted and try to go forth to reunite with their son. However Jibao denies
them. Zhang’s wife is infuriated and knocks herself at a pillar and dies. Zhang is devastated and dies out of despair at the unfairness of Providence.

“Meeting at the Pavilion from The Butterfly Lovers”
The Butterfly Lovers is a perennial favourite enjoying enduring popularity. This excerpt contains a number of classic Baizi singing parts which demonstrate the traditional vocalization style. Rich Zhu Yingtai disguises herself as a man to go to study in Hangzhou and become the best of friends with Liang Shanbo after three years of study but Shanbo is unaware of her gender. At the meeting at the pavilion Shanbo finally realizes she is a woman but she has already been betrothed to the Ma family. The original good match is rendered hopeless. Shanbo is ridden with guilt and frustration and departs in bitter regret.

“Interrogating Tao from The White Gauze Robe”
Adapted from the Ming chuanqi play Tale of the Gauze Robe; this excerpt tells of how Tao explains the background story to Xu which is characteristic of the traditional style in Baizi Opera.
Su Yun was killed by Yangzhou rogue Xu Neng but Su’s wife was rescued fortunately and gave birth while fleeing on the way. The baby boy was picked up by Xu who named him Jizu and brought up by the servant Tao Dai. Eighteen years later Jizu is named Top Scholar and appointed as the Inspector of Justice in Jianan. Hearing Jizu’s reputation of being just and clean, Su’s wife risks her life to file a suit. After listening to the story related by Tao, Jizu obtains the hard evidence. The wrong done eighteen years ago is finally redressed.

“The Escape from Helping Zeng Rong Escape”
A sequel to the Ming chuanqi play Wreaking Havoc in the Yan Residence; this excerpt demonstrates traditional vocalization style and rich stylized moves and routines. It won the Performance Award and Outstanding Repertoire Award at the National “No. 1 Theatre Troupe” Spectacular in 1992. The Zeng and Yan families are rivals for generations. Zeng Rong changes his name to become the adopted son of another family and marries the Yan family daughter Lanzhen but his identity is exposed by her grandfather, Song and father, Shifan who strive to exterminate him. Fortunately with Lanzhen’s clear sense of right and wrong and Madam Yan’s chivalry, Rong is able to escape the doomed fate.

“Murder at the Temple from Qin Xianglian”
Han Qi is ordered by Chen Shimei to kill Qin Xianglian and her children at the broken temple but after listening to Qin’s story, Han is torn between the dilemma of loyalty and righteousness. The excerpt displays drastic emotional changes in the characters; sadness, surprise, delight and anxiety, filling the drama with tension. After being named Top Scholar, Chen Shimei is greedy for prosperity and fortune and lies about his being unmarried and becomes the imperial son-in-law. His first wife Qin Xianglian brings along their children to go to the capital to find him but Chen declines to recognize her for fear of being accused of deceiving the throne. Qin files a suit to Justice Bao in Kaifeng. To avoid the truth being exposed, Chen
orders Han Qi to kill Qin and the children to silence her.

Baizi Opera is a theatrical genre popularly found in the coastal regions of Guangdong and Fujian provinces where the dialects of Haifeng, Chiuchow and Minnan are spoken. It was inscribed into the first National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China. Performed in the vernacular Baizi (also known as Fulaohua), both singing and line delivery form the distinguishing features. Its repertory consists mainly of ‘civil’ plays (as opposed to ‘martial arts plays’). The use of vocalise and linking sounds of ‘ah’, ‘eeh’ and ‘oi’ are the characteristics in the singing. Baizi Opera contains a rich variety of musical accompaniment and entr’acte music, as well as hundreds of ‘string poems’ (Xianshi) and set tunes that feature the erxian and suona as the lead instruments. They enhance the dramatic and compelling effects when used with scenes and stage prompts. There are seven roles types as in Nanxi (Southern Opera), namely sheng (male), dan (female), chou (clown), jing (painted face), gong (old male), po (old female) and tie (young girl). The staging is meticulous but the presentation can be vivacious and lively. The Haifeng Baizi Opera Troupe of Guangdong is the only state-run troupe in Baizi Opera in China. Since its founding in 1952, it has won numerous awards. For the Chinese Opera Festival 2014, it will be bringing the full-length opera, Chrysanthemum to Hong Kong to showcase the unique features of the genre. Other items on the programme include operatic excerpts, such as The Escape, which is a sequel to the Ming chuanqi play; Wreaking Havoc in the Yan Residence; and other outstanding works in the traditional repertory such as Interrogating Tao and Meeting at the Pavilion.

There are eight famous pieces in the sung music of South China (or ‘Lingnan’), with the scores originating from Cantonese Opera, known as “Eight Classic Pieces”. Each follows a stringent way of voice delivery as well as rules for ensemble accompaniment. Thanks to the salvaging efforts of the Cantonese song art expert, Mr Leung Yee-chung (1905-1974), who collated the vocal tracks of the eight pieces on Commercial Radio in 1966, this invaluable repertory of song art was preserved. In a bid to save it from extinction, the Faculty of Education of the University of Hong Kong launched a research and develo pment project to tie in with this meaningful project, this year’s Festival will present the exquisite of the Eight Classic Pieces. Under the artistic direction of Leung So-kam, daughter of the late Mr Leung Yee-chung and herself a famous singer of Cantonese arias, stars of Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong including Law Kar-ying, Yuen Siu-fai, Liu Kwok-sum and Cheng Wing-mui will perform the full-length production Lulang Reprimands His Son from among the Eight Classic Pieces. The vocal style will be modelled upon the recordings made by Mr Leung on Commercial Radio in 1966. There will also be two shows in which Cantonese operatic song artists Leung Chi-kit, Ting Oi-lin; Cantonese Opera star, Sun Kim-long with Tam Wing-lun, Wong Po-huan, Wong Hok-chiu and Yuen Tak-man, to present arias and excerpts from the Eight Classic Pieces. The Hong Kong audience will be able to revisit this invaluable musical heritage of South China, which had once almost fallen into oblivion.

Programme details are as follows:

Excerpts from “Baili Xi Reunited with His Wife”; “Reading in the Study at Night” from “Monk Biancai Releases the Demon”; “Lulang Reprimands His Son” (full-length opera)

This is an exemplary piece from the repertories of the Xiaoliyuan and Xianan stream. It was in the archives of Southern Opera of the Yuan Dynasty, and is distinguished by the excellent delivery and music, the lively, witty touches and emotional earnestness.

“On the Road from Wang Kui”
Wang Kui is from the traditional repertory of the Shanglu school, and is recognised for its archaistic style that has its provenance from the early Southern Opera of the Song and Yuan period. When Wang Kui is down and out, he is aided by Xie Guiying, a courtesan, and the two fall in love. They pledge that they would be forever true. But when Wang comes top in the examination and is appointed the Inspector of Xuzhou, he chooses to forget his vows. Devastated and heartbroken, Guiying cuts her own throat. Her ghost stays on earth. With a broadsword in hand, she goes to Xuzhou
to find Wang to take him to hell.

“Rendezvous at the Monastery Gate from Guo Hua”
Guo Hua is a highly popular play of the Xiaoliyuan stream,and the storyline is equally well known. It is a bravura piece for the actors performing sheng and dan, i.e., the male and female lead in a ‘seven role types’ troupe. The aria, Going to the Lantern Fair from the excerpt Rendezvous at the Monastery Gate is a household tune in the southern Fujian area. The story takes place during the Northern Song period. A scholar Guo Hua has come to the capital to attend the national civil examination. He meets the daughter of the owner of a shop called Wang Yueying by chance. It is love at first sight, and the young lovers agree to meet at the monastery gate on the evening of the Lantern Festival. But Guo gets so drunk that he passes out. Not seeing him after a long wait, Yueying leaves behind a handkerchief and embroidered shoes as a mark that she has been there.

“The Surrender from Liu Xiu”
The play Liu Xiu is also known as Shen Peng Surrendering to Han, which is in the repertory of the Xianan stream. Its presentation style
is unique in that there is ad lib at the wings of the stage, and the witty performance of the player of a wind instrument known as aizai,
which are both rarely found in other operatic genres.
The story takes place during the early years of Eastern Han period. Liu Xiu, later Emperor Guangwu, initiates a military coup to
reinstate the Han regime. General Shen Peng has declared allegiance with the usurper, Wang Mang. He fights the Han army at Suyang
City, but later after much persuasion from his mother and wife, he surrenders and opens the city gate to the Han army.

This is a classic in the traditional repertory of the Xiaoliyuan stream. The libretto was already in print and widely circulated as early as the Ming Dynasty, i.e., during the reign of Jiajing (1522-1566). The music is engaging, and the acting is sensitively rendered. Among the excerpts, Ennui was passed down by Cai Xiuying, a famous instructor of the ‘Seven Role Types’ troupes in Liyuan Opera. The playlet is a showcase of the many unique characteristics of dan roles in Liyuan Opera, and is regarded as a dan actor’s pièce de résistance.