Presenter: Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre 
Lead Cast: Qian Huili, Shan Yangping, Chen Ying, Zhang Yongmei, Fang Yafen, Hua Yiqing, Zhang Hailing, Huang Hui, etc. 
Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts - Theatre 
Dates: August 19-22, 2009    19:30  
Price:  VIP    380    280    180    120    80 RMB

Programme Introduction 

Synopsis
Baoyu (the hero) lives with a group of girls. Never live in accordance with the family's great expectation for him to study Four Books and Five Classics, he stays near the Qinfang Bridge and peeps at Romance of the West Chamber, a banned book, with Daiyu (the heroine), expressing their thoughts about freedom. Love between them thrives.

Friendship between Baoyu and Qiguan is accused of being enticed by the Zhongshun Prince House, which almost causes Jia Zheng (Baoyu's father) to beat Baoyu half dead.

The sight of dropping blossoms stirs up Daiyu's feelings. She holds a garden hoe to bury the flowers alone in the garden, grieving for the unfortunate fate of dropping blossoms and expressing her mental depression. On seeing this, Baoyu unbosoms himself to her. The two not only have agreed to bury the hatchet and also regard each other as life-long confidant.

However, in the eyes of parents, the ideal wife for Baoyu is Xue Baochai, regarding it as a "predestined match". For fear that Baoyu would make trouble; Wang Xifeng proposes a clever ruse to substitute the bride.

When Daiyu gets to know from Shayatou that Baoyu has married Baochai, she is severely shocked. She burns her poetry fascicle during illness, bids adieu to Zi Juan (Daiyu's maid) and finally puts an end to her life under the feudal influence.

Finding that his bride is Baochai instead of Daiyu, Baoyu recklessly goes to seek Daiyu.

At last, Baoyu cries sharply in front of the bier of Daiyu and leaves the Jia family.

Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre
Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre is established in 1955. The first President Yuan Xuefen, is now the Honorary President. The current President is You Boxin, who is also the Party Branch Secretary. And Hu Xu is the Artistic Director. The Theatre assembles a lot of prominent artists, among them are Yuan Xuefen, Fan Ruijuan, Fu Quanxiang, Xu Yulan, Wang Wenjuan, Zhang Guifeng, Xu Tianhong, Wu Xiaolou, Lu Jinhua, Lv Ruiying, Jin Caifeng and Zhou Baokui, etc.

Ever since its birth, Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre has produced, adapted and compiled nearly 400 dramas including a whole range of traditional, historical and modern dramas. Large quantities of outstanding dramas have sprung up. Magnum opuses are Butterfly Lovers, Romance of the West Chamber, A Dream of Red Mansions and Sister Xianglin. More than 50 dramas are made into movies and TV series.

For years, this group of people has been phenomenally popular abroad as well as at home. They have collected awards like China Golden Records Award, Plum Blossom Award for Chinese Drama, Splendor Award of Ministry of Culture, Shanghai Drama Magnolia Leading Role/Minor Role Prize, Top Ten Best Young Actors in Shanghai, etc. Butterfly Lovers is the first color film shot by new China. The special designed new version of A Dream of Red Mansions for Shanghai Grand Theatre is called a symbol to present the culture of Shanghai. It won the Best Show Award in Shanghai's repertoire for the 50th anniversary of China.

Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre has performed to welcome heads of state and government leaders from Soviet Union, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, India and other countries. It is also the first professional Chinese opera group to perform abroad after the founding of China, which had visited the former German Democratic Republic, Soviet Union, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, French, the United States and other countries in succession to give performances and won worldwide reputations. It has made outstanding contributions for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
 
  
We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information, however the hours, prices, and program details may vary due to last minute changes.