Source: CCTV.com

05-15-2007 09:39

Special Report:   Cultural Heritage Day

2007 marks the 600th anniversary of Kunqu opera. One of the treats in store to celebrate the occasion will be a new performance of the "Peony Pavilion", one of the most popular pieces of the genre.

A full house of two and a half thousand people saw the climax of the young lovers' edition of "Peony Pavilion" by Tang Xianzu. Tang has been dubbed the Chinese "Shakespeare" and his opera is a complex romantic tale with elements of Persephone, Pygmalion and Romeo and Juliet. Taiwan writer Bai Xianyong has been pushing for a revival of the Kunqu genre over many years.