On the modern and simple stage, a large mirror installation is on one side of the stage, and Liu Mengmei, played by Zhang Jun, walks onto the stage slowly. On the other side, the "Broken Wells and Walls" and the pavilions and pavilions are slowly falling, and the shadows of plum branches and willows are looming on the blank part of the stage. The backside of the pavilions and pavilions in the mirror is reflected in the bright and quaint colors as in the Ming picture book, contrasting with the gray on the front, becoming a set of installations that are difficult to distinguish between reality and reality. Du Liniang, played by Shan Wen, also took the stage at this time. She has her dreams, and Liu Mengmei also has Liu Mengmei's dreams. The entire stage space is also like the "Pirate Dream Space" completed by the main creators.

"Peony Pavilion" rehearsal photo

This is the rehearsal performance of the 2022 Shanghai Grand Theater version of Kunqu Opera - The Peony Pavilion. There are still 5 days before the official premiere on August 10, and the stage lighting and costumes have all been present. The actors are looking for a feeling on this stage that is completely different from the traditional "Peony Pavilion", and their performances of "Amazing Dreams" and "Calling Paintings" are completely traditional Kunqu opera appearances, from the voice to the figure, almost the most traditional appearance.
"This time, we just want to do something that 'abide by the bottom line and break through the boundaries'." Director Ma Junfeng introduced to the stage and sighed, because the screenwriter Luo Zhou gave this play a different structure, and they also hoped to do something different from the traditional The expression of Kunqu Opera, especially in stage design and vision, hopes to produce a sense of folding, a layered structure similar to 'Pirates of Dreams'.

"Peony Pavilion" rehearsal photo

This idea is largely related to Luo Zhou's dismantling of the text of "The Peony Pavilion". This version of the text is not arranged in the order of Tang Xianzu's script, but focuses on Du Liniang's "resurrection", relying on the original works "Yanhuai" and "Playing". The texts of "True", "Soul Tour", "Secret Love", "Oath" and "Rebirth", which integrate famous songs such as "Amazing Dream" and "Dream Hunting" into other excerpts, become a brand-new dramatic structure, and also a "Double Dream" structure. .
Therefore, the visual experience of the entire stage is true and false, false and true. In addition to the oblique angle of the traditional Chinese wooden building scene, the effect of mirror mapping, there is also an irregular extension angle protruding from the front of the stage, which together with the installation on the stage constitutes a naked-eye 3D picture. This idea came from the idea of director Ma Junfeng and stage designer Liu Kedong when they communicated in "Cloud Creation and Pai".

Reunion "Peony Pavilion" poster

This time, Liu Kedong, the stage designer of "The Peony Pavilion", is a first-class stage designer in China. The dance drama "Awakening the Lion", "Five Stars Out of the East", and the drama "A Dream" are all his representative works. He said that many of the inspirations for the choreography came from traditional Chinese paintings, including the elements of the Ming picture book "Peony Pavilion", "Actually, the ancient Chinese painting architecture is not a complete plane, but the effect of looking down at 15 degrees, which is actually a kind of The exquisite setting of Chinese space aesthetics, we apply this on the stage, it is very interesting." The whole stage has multiple layers, and the outer frame of the outermost stage is outlined by red lines, which is also a kind of The degree comes from the elements often used to outline paintings in Ming Dynasty picture books.
The lighting of the play, Xing Xin is also a big name in the industry. Under his lighting design, the vision of the whole play has a sense of beauty that combines traditional connotation and contemporary sense. And he said, our overall idea this time is to present a different kind of oriental aesthetics.
In addition to the beautiful lighting, the costumes of this version of "The Peony Pavilion" have invited the famous costume designer Lai Xuanwu, who has been nominated for the Best Styling Design of the Asian Film Awards and the Best Costume Styling Design of the Hong Kong Film Awards. He also designed the costumes for the Kunqu Opera "Six Records of a Floating Life".

"Peony Pavilion" backstage photo

In the background, more than a dozen sets of costumes with elegant colors and unique patterns have just been delivered, which are made by hand-made Suzhou embroidery and machine embroidery. Lai Xuanwu introduced as he unfolded that this time, he put a lot of effort into the patterns and colors of the costumes, especially the many flower and bird patterns on the costumes, which were different from traditional Kunqu Opera costumes, but they were all drawn from paintings.
For example, Liu Mengmei has a set of costumes embroidered with plum blossoms and a set of costumes embroidered with willow branches, implying "not on the side of the plum but on the side of the willow". "Rebirth", he chose chrysanthemum as the flower pattern for Du Liniang, but he didn't want to use the traditional chrysanthemum to be too plain, then. Turning to the "Deshan Zhai Chrysanthemum Spectrum" compiled by Zhu Youxu in the Ming Dynasty, there is a chrysanthemum that is white on the outside and red on the inside. And the flowers on the costumes of "You Yu" are quite modern. They seem to be the irises that often appear in Van Gogh's paintings, but they are actually irises, which are similar to "You Yu". He Lai Xuanwu said that our costumes this time hope to be based on profound traditions, and the costumes will return to the classics, but the colors and patterns have the aesthetics of the times and are not conventional.

costume details

"We just want to make a "Peony Pavilion" that is different from the performances of other troupes," said Zhang Xiaoding, general manager of Shanghai Grand Theater, when watching the rehearsal offstage. "Peony Pavilion", Shanghai Grand Theater hopes to continue the consistent concept of the "Oriental Aesthetics Series" brand and produce works of "traditional production methods, contemporary aesthetics".