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Jingkun Theatre and Shandong Peking Opera Theatre will present the award-winning work "The House Wulong" and the classic Peking opera "You Sanjie" at the Concert Hall of the Hong Kong City Hall in January.
"The House Wulong", which won the special jury prize at the Third Festival of Traditional Chinese Opera in Paris this year , will be staged at 8pm on Wednesday, January 30, and "You Sanjie" will be at 8pm on Thursday, January 31.
The performances will feature renowned Chinese opera star Tang Yuen-ha, Geng Tianyuan who won the best actor award at the Third Festival of Traditional Chinese Opera, and national class one performer Wang Yujin.
"The House Wulong" is a play about tragic love. President of the jury of the Third Festival of Traditional Chinese Opera Jean-Pierre Wurtz said the jury found it compelling and utterly seductive and was bowled over by the performance, which represented the true tradition of Peking opera.
Tang Yuen-ha is the only Hong Kong Chinese opera artist to have won the Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Theatre, the highest honour in Chinese theatrical arts. Tang was trained by maestro Yu Zhenfei and received martial art training from Zhang Meijuan. Endowed with a broad ranged voice and rich tones, Tang is a versatile actress who can play civil as well as military roles, and is steeped in both Peking and Kunqu opera. Her refreshing performing style has seen her described as "a pearl of the Peking and Kun operatic arts in Hong Kong".
She is the founder and artistic director of Jingkun Theatre and a dedicated promoter of Peking opera and Kunqu opera in Hong Kong.
A graduate of the Academy of Chinese Traditional Theatre specialising in sheng roles, Geng Tianyuan is also a director. Geng's recent directorial feats include the Peking opera "The Great Belfry" and "Romance of the Condor Lovers"; Kunqu opera "Wu Song and Pan Jinlian"; Hunan opera "The Story of the White Rabbit", and Cantonese opera "The Story of the Wooden Hairpin" and "Recollection of Dreams". Geng is currently the resident director, actor and lecturer of the Jingkun Theatre.
Jingkun Theatre was established in 1986 to develop and promoting Peking opera and Kunqu opera. Over the years, it has organised and co-ordinated performances, talks, workshops and courses throughout the territory and the world. Recent productions include "Classics Revisited", "The Northern & Southern Kunqu Virtuosi Showcase", "Wu Song and Pan Jinlian" and "The Great Belfry" (based on Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame").
The performances by the Jingkun Theatre and the Shangdong Peking Opera Theatre, with Chinese and English surtitles, is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
Tickets priced at $100, $160, $220 and $280 are now available at URBTIX outlets. Senior citizens, people with disabilities, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients may have 50% off (limited quotas for students and CSSA recipients on a first-come, first-served basis). A 10% discount applies to Friends of LCSD performing venues. There will be a maximum of 20% off for various booking schemes. Please refer to the programme leaflets for details.
For enquiries about the programmes, call 2268 7323 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/cp. Ticketing enquiries and reservations can be made on 2734 9009 and credit card telephone bookings on 2111 5999. Tickets can also be booked online at www.urbtix.hk.
Ends/Thursday, December 20, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:55
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