Red Cliff

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Lead Cast: Yu Kuizhi, Meng Guanglu, Li Hongtu, Li Shengsu, Zhang Jianfeng, Wang Yan, Wang Yue, Jin Xiquan, Du Zhenjie, Chen Junjie, Zhu Qiang, Huang Baixue, Huang Yanzhong, Du Zhe, Mei Qingyang and Zhang Kai, etc.

Programme Introduction

Production: National Centre for the Performing Arts

Presenter: National Centre for the Performig Arts & Peking Opera House of Beijing

Playwright: Cai Fuchao

Chief Director: Zhang Jigang

Composer: Zhu Shaoyu

Stage Designer / Director: Gao Guangjian

Director: Shi Hongtu

The Battle of Red Cliff, a legendary battle over a thousand years ago, is an epic of fight among three states as well as magnificent heroic scenery. Last year, a Peking Opera representing the history of that battle was on the stage, showing the famous event happened over 1,800 years ago to today's spectators.

For the past 20 performances, the Peking Opera Red Cliff all played to the full house, showing the classical charm of Peking Opera and the quintessence of Chinese culture. With the theatre packed, it has been greatly received since its debut, causing a fad for Peking Opera, the quintessence of Chinese culture, with its great epic charm.

From July 18 to July 26 in 2009, the Peking Opera Red Cliff will come back to stage with 10 performances. They will be presented to the spectators even more wonderfully than before.

The success of this play relies on a powerful lineup for the creation: it was adapted by Cai Fuchao, a famous playwriter; chiefly directed by Zhang Jigang, the assistant chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and executive chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of Beijing 2008 Paralympics; Zhu Shaoyu, a famous composer with a variety of 40 compositions as well as Shi Hongtu and other well-known Peking Opera artists joined in this opera. Major performers are from Beijing Peking Opera Troupe. Zhang Jigang has directed many plays, such as A Handful of Sour Dates, and it was his first time to direct a Peking Opera; however, he succeeded in mixing the charm of dance and the appeal of Peking Opera and showing it perfectly on the stage.

The coming performances of Red Cliff will again be played by a lineup of prestigious artists and promising rising stars. Leading Peking Opera artists nowadays including Yu Kuizhi, Meng Guanglu, Li Hongtu and Li Shengsu will play in all 10 performances, and popular young artists who have given wonderful performances earlier on including Zhang Jianfeng, Wang Yue, Jin Xiquan and Wang Yan will bring artistic enjoyment to the spectators once more in their own ways.

"Respect tradition and dare to innovate" is the artistic idea upheld throughout the creation of Red Cliff. Different from other traditional operas, TV programs and films with the same subject, the new epic Peking Opera Red Cliff shows great innovation both in story line and characterization. Some major plots, such as "A Verbal Dispute with Some Idea-men for War", "Borrowing Arrows by Scarecrow-soldiers on Boats" and "Battle of Red Cliff", as well as heroes and Xiao Qiao are all performed in a new artistic expression. Just as what dramatist Xu Chengbei said after watching it, "This is a successful play, with beautiful lyrics and compact plots, representing original historical facts and showing a new image of Zhou Yu, meanwhile, Zhuge Liang gets off the "alter" and acts like a ordinary people, so it more caters to the taste of modern people. "

There is a slight difference from the traditional expression with "One table and two chairs", Chief Director Zhang Jigang and Stage Designer Gao Guangjian made bold innovations and created several marvelous scenes, such as "Borrowing Arrows by Scarecrow-soldiers on Boats" and "Battle of Red Cliff", all of which present a unique romantic appeal of Peking Opera. Meanwhile, by inheriting traditions, Costume Designer Song Li and Aria Designer Zhu Shaoyu have both made successful exploration in their fields respectively. The creators of Red Cliff further transformed the "warships on fire", which made the scene of "the burning of Red Cliff" more soul-stirring. As such, the Peking Opera Red Cliff has been pursuing transcendence through one round of performances after another.

As a unique treasure in Chinese culture, Peking Opera has particular national value and aesthetic value. NCPA, a national for performing arts centre, has committed itself to promoting art treasures of our nation and carrying forward our traditional culture. The grand new epic Peking Opera Red Cliff has catered to the taste of youngsters by expressing the charm of Peking Opera in new forms, and thus opened a new era of Peking Opera. With experience from the earlier two rounds of performances, the third round of Red Cliff will reproduce the splendid history in a wonderful way.

( Video by courtesy of the NCPA )

Venue: Opera House，NCPA

Dates: July 18 / 19 / 21-26, 2009

NCPA Website：www.chncpa.org