Once upon a dream

Source: China Daily | 09-13-2008 14:43

The Peony Pavilion, a 16th-century Chinese drama about love, death, and resurrection, is arguably the most popular play from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

A number of artists from all kind of genres have been inspired to tell the stories in their own unique way, of which the Kunqu version is perhaps the most famous.

In April, the National Ballet of China adapted it into a ballet and now the Jiangsu Qianxian Song and Dance Company will present a dance version of it at the National Center for the Performing Arts on September 18-20.

The original script has 55 scenes and some Kunqu versions have staged the full-length play over three nights. Directed by Lu Ling, the three-act dance focuses on the love between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei, extends over three lifetimes.

Du, the daughter of a high-ranked official, meets the young scholar Liu in a dream. The two have a tryst in a garden of peonies. Du awakens and pines for her phantasmal lover, then dies, leaving behind a self-portrait.