IX. Peony Pavilion the dance drama
Produced by the Nanjing Qianxian Song and Dance Company
It opened this year's Shanghai International Arts Festival and was a tribute to the Kunqu original, the 16th-century supernatural love story.
Choreographed by Ying Zhiqi, Lu Ling and Wu Ning, this four-act full-length dance drama revolves around the love between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei, a love that extends over three lifetimes. Fang Ming composes the score, while award-winning dancer Hu Qinxin is Du and Xu Peng plays Liu.
Runner-up: Medea
Choreographed by Dimitris Papaioannou, the brain behind the much-acclaimed Opening Ceremony of the Athens Olympics, this revival, staged specially as part of Meet in Beijing Festival, had received plaudits from around the world. With its visual power and ingenious coupling of silent, stylized movement, the tale of a woman wronged from Greek mythology has not lost an iota of power and majesty. The music is a collage of Vincenzo Bellini's operas.
X. Ming
Directed by Tian Qinxin
Shakespeare's King Lear was given a makeover a la Akira Kurosawa: It was relocated to China's Ming Dynasty.
The old Emperor of the Ming Dynasty thinks of abdicating the throne, but cannot decide which of his three sons should get it, the effete eldest son, the cruel second son or the honest youngest one. In the race for power, people go crazy, are used, find themselves in key positions, lose out and even die.
Playwright Shi Yue is known for his series of historical novels about the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which helped set off a craze for anything Ming. He found parallels between the two worlds. The costumes change, but human nature remains the same. Power corrupts. The Shakespearian theme can be found anywhere, any time.
Runner-up: Hamlet
The prince of Denmark is a constant feature on Chinese stages, but director Lin Zhaohua has given it a slight new twist in his revival: He had his star-studded cast wear their daily clothes.
Lin first staged Hamlet in Beijing in 1990, drawing long queues in front of the box office. The drama that boldly strayed away from conventional productions made a big splash.
This year's production was designed with astonishing simplicity. Pu Cunxi reprised the title role, but the theme is "Everyone could be Hamlet" as role changes occurred periodically among actors.
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