Yesterday’s media was full of Wei Haimin and Wang Peiyu’s upcoming Tale of the White Snake (again). It starts to amaze me how high profile she has.

“This Xu Xian is somewhat cute.”
Note the hoodie: “I left my heart in Canada.” 
Article: Shanghai News Times

“Wife” sincerely in deep love, “little husband” turning her back, giggling
Apparently rehearsals are fun, Wang Peiyu still has to cover her face with her sleeves from time to time when laughing secretly. Well, now she has to manage without beards…
Article: Xinmin Evening News

Photos: 蕙蕙83

Photo: Shanghai Grand Theater

I think the groom is prettier. 

If there’s a trunk sealing performance, there must be a trunk opening one as well, right? Jingju Theater of Tianjin held it on 18 February, and what else could it be than Long Feng Cheng Xiang? Year of the Dragon will be packed with this drama for sure.

Theater in the Air seems to neglect Tianjin, and the theater’s website is under maintenance, but we got three audience videos: 6, 20 and 53 minutes long. Not bad, but somewhat “fan stuff”, I bet you know what I mean. ;)

→ 京剧《龙凤呈祥》Long Feng Cheng Xiang (The Auspicious Dragon and Phoenix)
Audience recording: [DOWNLOAD] 1.0GB

Great Theatre of China, Tianjin, 2012-02-18
Liu Bei: Wang Ping (王平)
Zhao Yun: Zhang Youlin (张幼麟)
Sun Shangxiang: Li Jingwen (李经文)、Li Li (李莉)
Empress Dowager of Wu: Li Hong (李宏)
Lu Su: Zhao Hua (赵华)
Zhou Yu: Jiao Pengfei (焦鹏飞)
Zhang Fei: Wang Jiaqing (王嘉庆)

Wang Ping with his 58 years was a youngster compared to Li Jingwen and Li Li (65, 66 respectively), but could you guess the age of these two actresses from these pictures?

 
Not bad. What’s the secret? I discovered my first visible wrinkles a few days ago.

No wonder Tianjin is staging so many military dramas, they are very well equipped with suitable performers.
52:17 in the longest video: look how Zhang Fei preens himself, very funny!

Source: 西梅’s blog, 弘扬京剧’s videos

Kuke.com has a new feature, 库客Live, you can watch performances live from various theaters, including Tianchan Yifu Theatre – bliss!

CLICK HERE to see the list of upcoming live Chinese Opera broadcasts (I added the link to the sidebar for instant access). When something is on air, you can see a little flashing LIVE icon next to it, then just click the big blue button and enjoy!

If you would like to record something, have some screen recording tool at hand, if you miss it then bummer, no playback option. I recommend Blueberry’s FlashBack Express, I had no problem with it in Windows 7 – no idea about Linux.

I missed yesterday’s Cool Breeze Pavilion I mentioned here, but today I could watch Chu-Han Contention. It was such a surprise, in the latter part, Xiao He Chasing Han Xin, the recently praised Tian Lei played the role of Xiao He, OMG this boy can sing in Qi style too. Give me a break! I wanna sleep! I wanna finish my tax return!

(an edit) Lu Wen makes photos of everything worth to see in Shanghai. Fabulous photos of the above mentioned Chu-Han: [part1] | [part2]

…but I can’t resist. (Actually I just make posts so that I can procrastinate finishing my tax return and don’t have to face how financially unproductive I was last year.)

One long strip with Da Jinzhuan. One with The Battle of Weinan.
Li Baochun and Tian Lei. Be still, my beating heart!
 

I already mentioned here that last week wasn’t just packed with quality drama, but with quality meetings and forums.

Wang Peiyu and Wei Haimin were not just speaking, but entertaining the audience with a little teaser from the upcoming Tale of the White Snake. You can download two little videos with their production below, really adorable. (Are these stupid trousers Wang Peiyu is wearing fashionable in the US too? Here in Europe it’s a big hit, unfortunately.)

Quality entertainment with Miss Wang and Miss Wei – White Snake unplugged:
[DOWNLOAD] 146MB

Quality Wang Peiyu and Wei Haimin

Quality Li Baochun

Photos: Qin Zhong

I recommend to everyone to rush to operabeijing.com and download the latest findings of Bertrand, in case you haven’t done so already . If you’re a fan of Cheng school, it’s not just recommended but obligatory. :P

Two new Zhang Huoding files were discovered:

1. The Broken Bridge (Duan Qiao) scene of Tale of the White Snake, from the 10th anniversary report-back highlights performance of postgraduate students, featuring a delicate Zhang Huoding and a cute Song Xiaochuan (2007-12-15, Chang’an Grand Theater)

2. A much bigger and better version of the audience recording of The Great Enthronement (Da Deng Dian) from the 2006 Red-maned Fiery Horse (Hongzong Liema), featuring Zhang Huoding, Li Chongshan, Zhao Baoxiu and Chang Qiuyue. (2006-11-25,  Chang’an Grand Theater)
Just a moment ago, I found this same recording in mkv format at CTdisk.com (374.5 MB), and took the liberty to upload it to operabeijing.com as an alternative copy.

In the above mentioned Hongzong Liema Zhang Huoding had one more act, The Wujia Slope (Wujiapo) with Du Zhenjie. Bertrand is a collector so I bet it bugs the hell out of him too that the single copy of this that we found so far is the less fabulous video at tudou.com. If there was a better Da Deng Dian, must be a better Wujiapo as well. [Thing #1 Bertrand has to find.] 
I have a namipan link that sits massively at 0% for a long time, I’m not even sure namipan still works, try your luck with NamiRobot if you wish so.

(update 2 hours later) Bertrand accomplished the first task in record time! Actually he already was uploading the file when I compiled this “task list”. So everyone go and download the new, fabulous video!

Another production that didn’t let me sleep is Zhang Huoding’s Long Feng Cheng Xiang, The Auspicious Dragon and Phoenix, or Harmony Through a Royal Marriage if you prefer the more descriptive title.

I knew it exists but I’ve seen only photos so far. Yesterday I found a copy of the above mentioned opera, in which Zhang Huoding plays the role of Sun Shangxiang in one act. However, hours later I found a few short audience videos of another Long Feng Cheng Xiang, with Zhang Huoding in two acts, including the ending “chariot driving” scene.
It took some time to figure out which is which, but finally the blog articles of “Cheng school Fanatic” and amateur singer “Xuezi” shed light on the topic.

So here are the details and the low quality video files of these two performances:

1. 中国戏曲学院新版《龙凤呈祥》NACTA new edition Long Feng Cheng Xiang, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.
Performed by professors and junior teachers of The National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Chang’an Grand Theater, 2009-10-16.
Main cast: Chen Lincang, Zhou Long, Du Peng, Zhang Huoding, Zhang Yao, Shu Tong, Zhang Jing, Li Liping, Jia Jinsong, Jiao Jingge, Yi Lin (陈霖苍、周龙、杜鹏、张火丁、张尧、舒桐、张晶、李丽萍、贾劲松、焦敬阁、衣麟)

High quality video: [Thing #2 Bertrand has to find.]
Crappy video, sound is fine (aired on BTV): [DOWNLOAD] 360MB

2. 京剧《龙凤呈祥》Long Feng Cheng Xiang
2002-09-17-18
Qiao Xuan, Lu Su: Zhang Jianguo (张建国)
Liu Bei: Du Zhenjie (杜镇杰)
Empress Dowager Wu: Li Mingyan (李鸣岩)
Sun Shangxiang: Zhang Huoding 张火丁, Wen Ruhua (温如华)
Zhao Yun: Huang Qifeng (黄齐峰), Wang Ping (王平)
Zhou Yu: Ye Shaolan (叶少兰)
Sun Quan, Zhang Fei: Wu Yuzhang (吴钰璋)

High quality video: [Thing #3 Bertrand has to find.] Considering the date this one seems rather hopeless…
Medium quality video: [DOWNLOAD] 315MB

And now you get a solemn looking Wang Ping because I’m a jerk :P.

OK, I’m not THAT much of a jerk. Here is Zhang Huoding as well:

Li Shaochun frequently performed highlights from Da Jinzhuan, no wonder that until present day, this play is usually staged following his approach.

However, the “上天台” Shang Tian Tai (Ascending the Heavenly Altar) scene of Da Jinzhuan has another version that differs from the script with 30-something sentences that we always hear. This another version comes from Yu Shuyan’s traditional edition, and has around 50 sentences, thus it’s very hard to perform.

Just to refresh memories, you could recently read the story of this opera at operabeijing.com, Panic in Han Palace is based on Da Jinzhuan, just with a happy ending.
(Shang Tian Tai is often staged separately, it’s the part when Yao Qi brings his son before the Emperor, then Liu Xiu enumerates Yao Qi’s merits and they have a discussion.)

Anyhow, Li Baochun had the guts to re-readapt Da Jinzhuan. Though his dad never performed the long, 50 sentences version of Shang Tian Tai on stage, he often sang this excerpt at home for his family, and these household recordings survived, just got forgotten. A year ago, Li Baochun found one of these old tapes, and got determined that this old classic Shang Tian Tai will reappear on stage.

Fortunate spectators could hear exactly this version this evening.

狠老虎不喂‘s review said maybe Mr. Li’s voice wasn’t at optimum peak this night, considering this was the fourth performance in four days, but was able to keep the attention of the audience all along, and after the 50 sentences Shang Tian Tai he made the Ancestral Temple scene without collapsing, that’s a big thing in itself.

Tan Yuanshou once performed Da Jinzhuan in his 60s, now Li Baochun beat that record. At the end of the play Liu Xiu’s dying scene is very acrobatic and easy to screw it up. Most likely this was Li Baochun’s last Hit with the Golden Brick, one more thing I won’t see in this lifetime, I think I just crawl under a rock and die there, oh misery.

Sun Zhengyang and Li Baochun, curtain call. Photo of 诗之新语.

The single available copy with the elderly Tan Yuanshou is the little video below. The another file I uploaded is the full lipsynched Da Jinzhuan with the archive voice recording of Li Shaochun and Lou Zhenkui. Yu Kuizhi and Chen Zhenzhi contributed with their bodies to the production.

→ 京剧《打金砖·太庙》Da Jinzhuan - Tai Miao (Hit with the Golden Brick – In the Ancestral Temple)
[DOWNLOAD] 22MB
Liu Xiu: Tan Yuanshou (谭元寿)

→ 京剧音配像《打金砖》”lipsynched” Da Jinzhuan (Hit with the Golden Brick) 1958
[DOWNLOAD] 211MB
Liu Xiu: Li Shaochun (李少春)
Yao Qi: Lou Zhenkui (娄振奎)
Ma Wu: Yuan Shihai (袁世海)

Interview: Liberation Daily

Possibly this was the most well-documented event in my blog, and finally the video is here! As a bonus, I added the interview with Wang Peiyu and Tan Xiaozeng.

→京剧《桑园寄子》Sangyuan Ji Zi (Child Abandoned in the Mulberry Garden)
2011-12-09, Mei Lanfang Grand Theatre, Beijing
[DOWNLOAD] 659MB
CCTV: [1] | [2]

Story: HERE
Photos: HERE

Main cast:
Deng Yan: Wang Peiyu (王佩瑜)
Mrs. Jin: Tian Hui (田慧)
Deng Yuan (son, abandoned): Wang Zeqi (王泽琦)
Deng Fang (nephew, carried away): Hu Yanze (胡彦泽)
Shi Lei: Luo Shuai (罗帅)
Jin Yongcheng: Wang Xueqing (王雪清)
Commander: Zhu Feng (朱峰)

(In the video the names of the child performers are exchanged, the list above is the correct one.)

Not bad at the age of 62, right?

Guess what, Li Shaochun’s legendary repertoire misses Battle of Weinan. This drama is the most astonishing and spectacular one from all the plays that tell Three Kingdoms stories; many heard about it, but there are very few who actually had the opportunity to see it. 50 years ago he was rehearsing this play with Yuan Shihai, but for some reason they had to cancel the performance.

“Nowadays my goal is to unearth things taught by our predecessors.”, said Li Baochun.
A few years ago, he and one of his colleagues started to look for the script of Battle of Weinan, and after a long search they found it in the library of The National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts.
“It was covered with dust, moreover it had only rehearsal directions and two excerpts, it just wasn’t enough for a full play.”

As a last option, Li Baochun had to find those old people still alive who participated in or witnessed the rehearsals.

“First I found dad’s assistant, Cao Yunqing, he’s already 80 years old and hardly can walk, he remembered some details but could explain them only in words. Unexpectedly turned out that Chang Guixiang has seen the rehearsals, and he could explain two moves in depth. And this was all the material we had.”

This evening, Li Baochun paid his dad’s score before the Shanghai audience with a traditional and at the same time innovative Battle of Weinan, based on memories and his own approach and new ideas. For the role of Ma Chao they invited Tian Lei, that I personally am very happy with.

 
Li Baochun and Tian Lei in action

Besides Battle of Weinan, tomorrow’s Hit with the Golden Brick also contains this kind of “newly excavated” stuff, so stay tuned! For today, here are some more beautiful photos by 狠老虎不喂:

Sorry guys, no girls in this play.

Article: Liberation Daily

Besides really innovative performances, this year’s Peking and Kun Opera Festival also offers a series of lectures and conferences (see ad).

On 16 February afternoon, the theme was “What have we done in the last years to enhance national essence?”. Amonst others, those who were interested could meet Mrs. Gu Huaiqun, head of the Taipei New Theatrical Troupe, who explained in detail the current situation of Taiwan’s jingju.

Zhang Zhe, president of Shanghai Grand Theater expressed: “Over the years, Shanghai Grand Theater withdrew glittery-flittery shows, in order to popularize art. This forum is just the overture of the festival, hopefully even more learned scholars and experts will reflect on the topic; the future development of jingju gets more exposure and the quintessence of China’s culture remains a continued tradition.”

Stay tuned, Battle of Weinan is coming today.
By the way, don’t you think this photo of Wang Peiyu doesn’t seem to be very recent?

Article: Shanghai News Times