The Peony Pavilion

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Available from www.digitalclassics.co.uk and all major retailers.

The Peony Pavilion's universality and theatrical immediacy generates an audience appeal that has lost none of its power, even today. Over the course of this spellbinding Chinese opera intimate episodes alternate with elaborate set pieces, lyrical poetry and low slapstick comedy.

This version of The Peony Pavilion presents an abridged version of the sixteenth-century masterpiece of Kunju opera. It focuses on the romantic and poetic love story that lies at the heart of this epic and presents theatrical highlights from Tang Xianzu's vivid story-book section of life in China as it may have existed during the Song dynasty, between 960 and 1279.

Chinese opera is an all-embracing art form and acting, singing, dance, acrobatics, stilt-walking, puppetry, recitation, pageantry, martial arts all find a place in the rich tapestry of The Peony Pavilion. The director, Chen Shi-Zheng, sought to "rediscover the essence of the art form" in this production. The Los Angeles Times noted, "With Peony Pavilion, the multi-talented Cheng has created a production of the scope, greatness, originality and importance of the handful of most important theatrical and operatic events of our time"