'Meet in Beijing' festival to close with unique retelling of 'Farewell My Concubine'

Peking opera star Zhang Huoding is known for keeping a low profile. But her production of "Farewell My Concubine", with which the 19th Meet in Beijing Arts Festival will close, is set to make a loud statement about her determination and creative capacity.

Zhang Huoding, right, and her students [Photo: provided to China Plus by CreditChina Arts and Entertainment Group]

"Farewell My Concubine" is a masterpiece by famous Peking opera master Mei Lanfang, and is a classic of the Mei school of opera. Zhang said the opera has been close to her heart for many years despite coming from a different school of Chinese opera to the one in which she was trained.
"I've liked this drama since I was a child. After I was admitted to the Cheng school [of opera], it felt like my dream was shattered." However, she couldn't get the story out of her system. "Ten years ago, I finally made up my mind to reproduce this classic repertoire by Master Mei Lanfang in the style and vocals of the Cheng school."

But successfully pulling off this kind of adaptation is not easy. Zhang and her team faced many ups and downs. For instance, the sword dance in the play posed a major difficulty, as it is hard for performers to avoid getting their swords caught up in the heavily decorative costumes.

The changes to the score also proved challenging. The composer Wan Ruixing, who has worked with Zhang for many years, wrote three different versions. "This was the most difficult drama in my career," Wan said, "It's a classic that's very familiar to both professional and amateur audiences. We had to change it from the school of Mei to Cheng. This was difficult beyond imagination."

But Zhang appears confident that their hard work will pay off. "Ten years on, I am here to say that my dream will come true on the stage just one month from now," she said. "I will dedicate my dreams and love to the audience. I hope everyone will like it."

[Photo: provided to China Plus by CreditChina Arts and Entertainment Group]

Zhang's version of "Farewell My Concubine" will be performed just once in Beijing, on May 25 to wrap up the month-long Meet in Beijing Arts Festival. There will also be one performance in Shanghai in October.