Produced by the Experimental Theatre of Liyuan Opera of Fujian

Synopsis

Travelling in search of a relative, scholar Zhu Wen takes a room at an inn. During the night, a young woman comes to his room and refuses to leave. Calling herself Yi Li Jin (A Grain of Gold), she tells Zhu that she is the daughter of the innkeeper and presents him with an embroidered purse full of coins as a pledge that they will become husband and wife. The next day, when Zhu Wen takes out the purse to pay for a meal, the innkeeper and his wife recognise it as the one they had placed in their deceased daughter’s grave.

The archaic language of this script, the only extant version passed down from the Song and Yuan dynasties, illustrates how Liyuan opera has preserved the qualities of its ancient origins.

Actor

Character

Zhang Chunji

Zhu wen

Zheng Yasi

Yi Lijin

Lin Fufu

Wang Xingshou

Wu Youqing

Wang’s wife

Programme Details

Date: 9 September 2017 (Saturday)
Time: 7:45pm
Venue: HKRep Black Box
Ticket price: $180

Half price for people with disabilities and the accompany minders and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients

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With Chinese and English surtitles

Cast

Zhang Chunji


Zhang Chunji, currently the Associate Director of the Experimental Theatre of Liyuan Opera of Fujian, is a National Class Two Performer who specialises in sheng (male) roles and was trained under Yao Suqin and Wu Mingsen. His repertoire includes Chen San, Zhu Wen, Li Yaxian , Guo Hua, Jiang Shilong and A Widow’s Lament . Zhang is the winner of a number of awards, including the Outstanding Performer Award at the Theatre Showcase of Fujian Province, the Silver Award at the Young to Middle-aged Performers’ Competition of Fujian Province, and various other prizes in provincial theatre showcases.

Zheng Yasi


Zheng Yasi, currently the Associate Director of the Experimental Theatre of Liyuan Opera of Fujian, is a National Class Two Performer who specialises in tie (young female) roles and was trained under Zeng Jingping. Her repertoire includes Chen San, Zhu Wen, Guo Hua and The Scholar and the Widow . Zheng is the winner of a number of awards, including a Gold Award at the Narcissus Awards of Fujian Province, and various recognitions at the Young to Middle-aged Performers’ Competition of Fujian Province.

Company Director, Experimental Theatre of Liyuan Opera of Fujian
Zeng Jingping


Zheng Jingping specialises in dan (female) roles. She received training on the Liyuan Course at the Fujian Arts School and the Advanced Directing Studies Course at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. She is currently the Company Director of the Experimental Theatre of Liyuan Opera of Fujian; a National Class One Performer; Vice Chairman of the Fujian Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Fujian Dramatists’ Association; a National Bearer of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Liyuan Opera in China; deputy to the 10th, 11th and 12th National People’s Congress; National Model Worker; an Outstanding Expert in the ‘Four Groups Talent’ Project under the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee; an Outstanding Expert of the Ministry of Culture; an Advanced Cultural Worker in the Cultural System under the Ministry of Culture; and holder of the accolade ‘Artist of Integrity and Artistic Excellence’ presented by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.

Zeng has received a number of major awards, including the Wenhua Award for Performance at the Government Awards for Culture and the Arts; the Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Theatre (twice); the Shanghai Magnolia Award for Theatre and the Performing Arts – Lead Actor; and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Award for Transmission of Heritage presented by the Ministry of Culture. She was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons and Ten Outstanding Women, and was recognised with the Culture Icon Award of Fujian, and as the Best Female Performer in the first Narcissus Awards. The Scholar and the Widow , a new original play in the Liyuan Opera repertoire that features Zeng as lead actor, was named one of the Ten National Fine Stage Arts Projects for the season 2003–2004. Another Liyuan Opera production featuring Zeng as lead actor and stage director, A Widow’s Lament , was shortlisted in the first round of selection for the National Fine Stage Arts Projects. The Experimental Theatre of Liyuan Opera of Fujian has been selected as a key troupe for the creation and staging of regional opera in China. Over the forty years of her career, Zeng has preserved, passed on and created a number of well-known Liyuan Opera productions, including Chen San and Wuniang , Zhu Wen , Lu Mengzheng , Zhu Maichen, The Scholar and the Widow , A Widow’s Lament, The Prison Guard and the Woman Gangster and The Pavilion of the Imperial Monument . She has led the troupe on overseas tours to over thirty countries and regions, including France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Singapore and Japan. Zeng has also passed on her skills and knowledge, training two batches of around one hundred budding artists in the arts of the Liyuan Opera and related fields in 1997 and 2007.

Zeng is renowned for her performances in traditional Liyuan Opera productions such as Chen San, Zhu Wen, Lu Mengzheng, Zhu Bian , Guo Hua and Zhu Maichen , as well as in the new original plays A Widow’s Lament , The Prison Guard and the Woman Gangster and The Pavilion of the Imperial Monument .

Artistic and Production Teams

Production Team

Script: Manuscript fragment of Qing Dynasty

Company Director/ Successor: Zeng Jingping

Lighting Designer: Su Zhiqiang

Sound Designer: Chi Duguan

Stage Manager: Chen Junjun, Lin Dongdong

Set Production: Shu Hualai

Props Production: Chen Huanhusang

Wardrobe Mistress: Zhang Wanling

Makeup: Guo Pingping

Surtitles: Chen Zhihui

Marketing and Administration: Chen Junjun, Zeng Long

String and Percussion Ensemble

Percussion Leader: You Yubin

Percussion: Zhao Yihui

Erhu: Ren Zhanhong

Sanxian: Wu Yingying

Erxian: Huang Yufeng

Suona: Xu Peikun

Nanpa: Li Zhen

Xiao and Dizi: Li Zhihuang

Vocal Accompaniment: Zeng Yukun, Zhang Ni

See more

See also