Peking Opera “I AM a Nandan”Oct.20th 19:00; Oct.21st 15:30 19:00 Red Building Room. 106
Throughout the legendary story presented by the play, the audience will have the opportunity to appreciate the fascinating and profound cultural quintessence of the Chinese opera.
Excerpts from widely-known plays like The Favorite Concubine Becomes Intoxicated (Guifei zuijiu), The Peony Pavilion (Mudan tin) and Goddess Scatters Flowers (Tiannü sanhua) make the opera so vivid and expressively powerful that it grips the audience like a fantasia.
The Chinese word, nan, means male, while dan is the generic term for female roles in jingju (Beijing/Peking “opera”). When used together, the term nandan refers to the male actors who perform female roles in jingju. The nandan are undoubtedly the most mysterious of jingju actors. Many people have great interest in, and are eager to know more about this kind of cross-gender performance. Mou Yuandi, the only young nandan in Shanghai, will lift the veil of mystery surrounding nandan by providing a live introduction to the art, presenting nandan in terms of its historical development and the whole process of training, performance, and makeup.
Program:
- A dance of dan roles featuring long water-sleeves
- An excerpt from the jingju play, The Favorite Concubine Becomes Intoxicated (Guifei zuijiu)
- An excerpt from the jingju play, Battle of Wan City (Zhan Wancheng) featuring the skills of wearing qiao (stilt-like wooden footwear used to mimic the bound feet of women in ancient China)
- An excerpt from the scene, “A Walk in the Garden” (Youyuan) in the kunqu play, The Peony Pavilion (Mudan ting)
- An excerpt from the jingju play, Goddess Scatters Flowers (Tiannü sanhua)
Length：90 minutes
Presented by the School of Traditional Chinese Theatre at the Shanghai Theatre Academy
Producer: Guo Yu
Artistic Director: Bi Guyun
Leading Actor: Mou Yuandi
