Peking Opera Repertoires
Picking Up A Jade Bracelet
This opera is about two lovers falling in love at first sight. The excerpt that we typically perform highlights the pantomime component of Peking opera: The beautiful young woman, SUN Yu Jiao is seen coming out of her house and pauses to admire the beautiful day. She opens up the chicken coop and feeds the chickens that her family raises for a living. Then, she sits down to do some needlework outdoors. With minimal props, these activities in daily life are represented on stage.
Selling Water
This is an opera excerpt from the full-length opera Fiery Steed. In this episode, a young woman, HUANG Gui Ying is persuaded by her maid to spend some time in the gardens. The mistress is distressed because her betrothed's family has been wrongly framed, the father thrown in jail, and all their property confiscated. HUANG Gui Ying's maid tries to raise her mistress' spirits with song - praising the lotus for its purity, the hibiscus for blooming side by side, the autumn chrysanthemum for withstanding wind and frost, and the winter plum for defying ice and snow.
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