Sunday evening was a gala night for Peking opera buffs in
Beijing.
It was the opening night of Mei Lanfang, a large-scale
peking opera-and-symphonic poem staged to commemorate the Peking
opera guru's 110th birthday this year.
The highly-anticipated opera focuses on Mei
Lanfang's courage during the anti-Japanese war in the
1940s.
It depicts the star in daily life and brings some of his
celebrated characters to the stage.
Yu Kuizhi, a famous laosheng actor, plays the part of
Mei Lanfang and interprets the master vividly.
The opera also adopts a symphony orchestra of classical western
instruments in an effort to appeal to a wider audience, including
the youth market.
The play received rave reviews from those in attendance at the
sold-out show.
Despite the sky-high price of 1,000 Yuan, or US$120, all tickets
have been sold out for the two weeks of performances.
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(CRI.com May 4, 2004)
