Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe  

Date: 16 March 2011   Venue : State Theatre   

Co-presented:  Australian International Association of Trade & Commerce Inc, Australian Chinese Performing Artists Association   ,   the University of Confucius Institute        Photo Gallery 

Supported by    Great Trend Management Pty Ltd    Douglas Fabian Productions     Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe, China, was founded in 1984. Since its founding, Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe has won numerous important national drama prizes. During the 1995, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2008 China Peking Opera Art Festivals,the troupe presented to the public several operas, among which, the re-edited Qin Xianglian, The West Chamber, Golden Mountain Temple? The Broken Bridge? Lei Feng Pagoda, The Story in the Palace of Chu State, and Han Yu Niang were awarded “Outstanding Performance Prize”, “Creative Opera Prize of Excellent Repertoire”, “The Honorary Re-edited Opera Prize”, “Special Honorary Re-edited Opera Prize”. Large symphonic Peking Opera Zheng He Xia Xi Yang (Zheng He’s Expedition to the West Sea) was awarded the First Prize of Newly-organized Historical Drama. Emotions of the Embroidered Robe, Cao Cao and His Sons, Yue Yun and some other operas were awarded by China’s Ministry of Culture Prize of Excellent Opera by Young Performers and Wenhua Prize. The troupe was selected as one of the Key National Peking Opera Troupes in China in 2005.  

The main performance of this “Image China” Tour in Australia and New Zealand is the Peking opera “Golden Mountain Temple?The Broken Bridge?Lei Feng Pagoda”, carried out by Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe. It is based on the well-known Chinese folk story “The White Snake”. The protagonist was Bai Suzhen, a snake with a-thousand-year’s Taoist reflections and got a human body. An ordinary scholar, Xu Xian, happened to save Bai’s life when she was a snake. In order to repay him, Bai married Xu Xian as a human. An old monk, Fa Hai, holding hatred towards creatures like Bai, was determined to sabotage their happy marriage. He detained Xu Xian in his Golden Mountain Temple. Bai and her maid Xiao Qing begged Fa Hai to let Xu go. Begging being of no avail, Bai and Xiao Qing used their magic power and forced Fa to let Xu out. However, they were not allowed to do that. So Bai was put under house arrest in Lei Feng Pagoda after she gave birth to a boy. After many years, the boy, Xu Shilin, get a high position in court, and save Bai out of the pagoda, the family was finally together.