Xiqu

The story of the Peking Opera, Farewell My Concubine, came from The Romance of Western Han. The Peking Opera was created and premiered by the famous Peking Opera virtuosi – Yang Xiaolou, Mei Lanfang and Jin Shaoshan in the early part of the 20th Century. It was so popular that it became a classic in Peking Opera. But in recent years, it appeared on stage chiefly as an excerpt. The Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe has revived the complete edition of nine acts by inviting seasoned artists for input. They used the libretto of Farewell My Concubine printed in the book, Collected Plays of Mei Lanfang (1959) as the basis for revival, which is realized in the present production.

With the Qin Empire fallen, the states of Chu and Han are battling for supremacy. Xiang Yu, King of Chu, is a good fighter but lacks political acumen; he is so stubborn and self-opinionated that he leads his army to fight the Han army head on, against the advice of his generals and his favourite consort, Lady Yu. He has thus walked into the trap set by Han Xin, Marshal of the Han army. As a result, the Chu army is ambushed on all sides at Gaixia. At Han Xin’s order, the soldiers in the Han camp sing the songs of Chu. This leads the Chu soldiers to mistakenly believe that their land has been taken by Han. They are worried about their family back home. With many slipping away, the army dissipates. Xiang Yu is aware that he can no longer turn the tide. He heaves long sighs and sings a sad song as he pats his beloved horse. Lady Yu sets up a wine table and performs a sword dance for him to ease his anguish. Tearfully they try to comfort each other. But the Han troops are closing in on them. Xiang Yu wants to take Yu away by fighting through the battle front, but Yu does not want to be his burden, so she kills herself with his sword. Chased by the Han soldiers, Xiang retreats to Wujiang River. He feels so ashamed of going home that he takes his own life. The State of Chu falls to Han in the end.