Opera Heroes
“Opera Heroes”, formerly known as “Opera Warriors”, is a masterpiece of Chinese dance never seen in Europe before.
Tickets & Infos HERE
More than 50 dancers of the Huajin Dance Drama Star-Ensemble of the Shanxi Academy of Arts will enchant in summer 2017 – after its acclaimed performances in Sydney Opera House and Vancouver Queen Theatre – the audience in Brussels, Geneva and Frankfurt with a highly theatrical mix of Peking Opera, martial arts, acrobatics, traditional Chinese dance as well as modern dance. A fascinating fusion of Chinese traditional culture and contemporary cultural elements.
“Opera Heroes combines the distinguished acrobatic and cultural traditions of China with the intensity and melodramatic art of Western musical blockbusters like Les Miserables and Cats” says Zhang Yu, the chairman and president of the China Arts and Entertainment Group, who is booking the troupe throughout the world thanks to the Chinese Cultural Exchange Program.
The story of “Opera Heroes” revolves around three brothers: Wang, Wu and Heidou, apprentices and later stars of a successful Peking-Opera-Troupe performing in a city of North-China in the beginning of the 20th century. The tumultuous times in those days enabled a regional warlord to enforce a close-down of the theatre and to disband the Peking-Opera-Ensemble, because his third wife had a secret love affair with Wu, the second of the three brothers. The warlord then has Wu killed as well as his oldest brother who attempted to save his life.
Driven by hatred and further revenge the warlord demands Yan´er, the opera master´s daughter to become his wife. Thereupon the master dissolves the Troupe, gives his daughter to Heidou as wife and sends his apprentices far off. And, just before the arrival of the warlord´s team with the bridal sedan chair, he hangs himself out of desperation.
Heidou and Yan´er live a miserable live working in various theatres throughout the country as unsuccessful and out-of-favour actors. One day while Heidou was observing his tame monkey fighting with wild monkeys for their food, he suddenly gets a brilliant idea. On that day, he invents the “Monkey King”, a character which henceforward finds its way into the Peking Opera. As the “Monkey King” Heidou regains public favours, and with his own theatre he continues the heritage of his brothers and the opera master.
Discipline and hard work, love and jealousy, hatred and destruction rule for a long time the play on stage. However, diligence and the good prevail in the end.
Overflowing with emotions and extravagance, presenting an elaborately designed stage-set and over 300 awesome costumes, this high-scale production was accomplished by a highly professional team:
- The choreographer Xing Shimiao, longtime director of the famous Chinese TV new years event “CCTV Spring Festival”.
- The author Pik Wah Li, whose screenplay for the well-known movie Farewell my Concubine won the “Palme d’Or” at the renowned Film Festival in Cannes.
- The star light-designer Sha Xiaolan, who was responsible for the light show during the opening and closing ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
- Finally, the musical score was composed by the renowned Chinese composer Fang Ming, who is, amongst others, famous for the song Flying with Dream which was played during the opening the Paralympics Games in Beijing in 2008.
The troupe takes the audience on a two-hour-long fantastic journey into the world of passion and physical perfection.
Tickets & Infos HERE
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