Shanghai Daily news

A new staging of the classic play "The Peony Pavilion" - part of the ongoing Shanghai International Arts Festival - takes the form of Ganju Opera, writes Fan Meijing.
A woman dies longing for a man she met once in a dream. The man later meets the ghost of the woman, disinters her body and she comes back to life.
"The Peony Pavilion," one of China's greatest traditional dramas telling of a fantastic love story from beyond the grave, is to be staged during the ongoing Shanghai International Arts Festival.
This time, the performance will be in Ganju Opera style, one of the ancient Chinese opera forms that is still very popular in East China's Jiangxi Province.
"'The Peony Pavilion' is the most precious gem in the crown of Ganju Opera," says Tong Dan who plays the heroine of the drama. "It shows that great love can transcend death. It calls on people to believe in true love and be devoted to it, even they have so far failed finding it."
Written by Tang Xianzu, China's most gifted playwright of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), "The Peony Pavilion" sticks to the basic template of most Chinese plays which center on a handsome, bright young scholar and a beautiful maiden of an official family who fall in love but have to confront obstacles.
But it also throws in an unusual twist to the tale with the love affair of a human with a ghost.
The peony Pavilion is the place where Du Liniang, the daughter of a high official in Jiangxi, meets Liu Mengmei, a young but unestablished scholar, in a dream. Du misses Liu so much that she falls sick and dies.
Liu by accident ends up staying at Du's house where he picks up a painting of Du at the Peony Pavilion. In a dream he calls out her name and Du's ghost appears and marries him. Later, Liu, with the help of a witch, opens Du's coffin and has her brought back to life. However, other complications such as parental disapproval then arise.
"I can feel Du's strong love while playing the role," Tong says. "Through the play's happy ending, audience can see that love eventually works miracles."
Innovations in stage design, sets and costumes have been made for this performance as well as new songs designed to appeal to younger people.
"The tunes sound sweet and fresh. The rhythms are brisk," says director Tong Weiwei. "As well as traditional instruments such as the erhu, guzheng (Chinese zither) and percussion instruments, the playing of a symphony orchestra will also accompany the action on stage."
Date: November 4-5, 7:15pm
Venue: Shanghai Oriental Arts Center, 425 Dingxiang Rd, Pudong
Tickets: 80-380 yuan
Tel: 6272-0246