The Peony Pavilion - A Walk in the Garden

The Peony Pavilion - A Walk in the Garden

The Chinese Kunqu musical / opera A Walk in the Garden is an excerpt of the 20-hour long play The Peony Pavilion, which was produced by the Lincoln Center Festival, New York, and the Festival d'Automne à Paris, the Sydney Festival and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. The 16 year-old young lady Du Li-niang, raised by her strict parents, is forbidden to leave her boudoir without permission. One day, she goes to the backyard garden while her strict father is out, accompanied by her maid, Chun Xiang (Spring Fragrance).
She is sentimental on the scene that the spring flowers are in full bloom. Du Li-niang feels the mysterious beauty and joys of the spring, and longing of nature life and love.

Directed by Chen Shi-zheng

Music Director : Zhou Ming

Playwright : Tang Xian-zu (1550 - 1616)

Music notation by Ye Tang (circa 1792)

Qian Yi as Du Li-niang

 Jia Yonghong as Chun Xiang (Spring Fragrance)

Director Chen Shi-zheng: The Peony Pavilion is one of the greatest Chinese opera work that has ever written. Tang Xian-zu is considered one of the great Chinese authors that this piece was written in 1598, that it was incident to a controversy …, and unfortunately that most of this work has been adapted, deleted. So for centuries nobody has actually seen the entirely of this work until now.

Music Director Zhou Ming: The Peony Pavilion is a classic of Kunqu and culture of Chinese musical / opera.

Kunqu was designated by UNESCO as A Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001.