Kunqu Opera with echoes of Rebecca enthralls audience

NANJING,China,July 14,2023 -- Rebecca,the masterpiece of director Alfred Hitchcock tells the illusory andmysterious life story of a woman. It mirrors the traditional Chinese story of"Zhuang Zhou tests his wife". The classic Kunqu Opera the Butterfly Dreamproduced by Jiangsu Performing Arts Group Co.,Ltd. and innovatively performedby Jiangsu Kunqu Opera Theater was staged at Zijin Grand Theatre in June. Thenew rendition of the classic piece which tells the story of Zhuang Zhou,anancient Chinese philosopher and Taoist master who doubts his wife's loyalty andtries to test her love for him has enthralled the audience.

The classic Kunqu Opera the Butterfly Dream

As a rare light comedy of Kunqu Opera on the contemporary stage,it combinesboth banter in the classical theater and the absurdity in contemporaryaesthetic expression. It makes a new interpretation of the traditional plotthat Zhuang Zhou tests his wife,and his wife splits the coffin and awaken himfrom dreams.

Director Xu Chunlan said that the Butterfly Dream after adaptation is aromantic fantasy. Following the artistic patterns of Kunqu Opera,the creatorshave innovated performance methods,stage design and music design from multipleperspectives,and integrated modern aesthetic spirit,so that it shows strongcharacteristics of the times in terms of aesthetic sentiments.

Young Kunqu Opera artists have also developed new interpretations oftraditional themes. As the heroine of this play,Tian is no longer the same asshe was in the past. The character has undergone subversive changes,from a"testee" to an active "tester". In traditional plays,Zhuang Zhou and ChuWangsun are played by one person,but in this version,they are played by twopeople,which puts forward higher requirements for the actors. During theperformance,the five artists worked together appropriately,showing their ownunique charm and interpreting the characters vividly.

Inheriting the aesthetic characteristics of traditional Kunqu Opera,theadaptation of the Butterfly Dream has carried out creative transformation andinnovative development,highlighting life philosophy through a love episode.Therefore,the audience can naturally think more deeply after laughing,and thetraditional play also shines with new brilliance.

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Caption: The classicKunqu Opera the Butterfly Dream