Six Chapters of a Drifting Life: A Kunqu Opera at the 2019 Avignon OFF Festival

Six Chapters of a Floating Life: a Kunqu opera at the 2019 Avignon OFF Festival July 5–9 at the Collège de la Salle (Théâtre Gymnase), at 1:00 PM Directed by Wang Shiyu, of the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre Running time: 70 minutes | Suitable for ages 12 and up Original work: Six Chapters of a Floating Life, Shen Fu (1763) Libretto: Zhou Mian Actors: Shen Guofang, Zhang Zhengyao, Shen Zhiming, Yin Liren Music: Sun Jian’an Orchestra: Suzhou Kunqu opera theater ensemble Presented by the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre Producer: Michelle Xiao Yan Assistant producer: Kim Hunter Gordon Reservations through the Festival OFF online box office ↓↓↓ https://www.avignonleoff.com/programme/2019/six-chapitres-d-une-vie-flottante-s26929/ Kunqu opera: a cultural heritage Kunqu, one of the oldest forms of Chinese theater still performed, originated in the city of Suzhou and its surroundings. It emerged in the 16th century under the Ming dynasty, driven by the musician Wei Liangfu, who managed to synthesize different types of music and song, particularly popular ones. On stage, ornamented singing combines with a refinement of movement performed in synchrony with the rhythms of the percussion. Accompanied by a bamboo flute (dizi), the singers carefully articulate the tonal characteristics of each Chinese word within an overall melody. In 2001, Kunqu was proclaimed by UNESCO, then inscribed in 2008 on the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Show overview Shen recalls his first meeting with his cousin Yun, their engagement, and their life together in a marriage of equality and mutual love. Their couple cultivated a taste for refinement without caring about wealth, finding pleasures within a life of modest means. When Yun dies after a long illness, Shen leaves home and pursues his career as a private secretary, traveling far from home. * Six Chapters of a Floating Life is an adaptation of a collection of notes and memoirs by Shen Fu (1763–1825), a government official in Suzhou who was unknown until recently. Although the fourth part of his work was written in 1808 (the last two have never been found), it was not published until 1877, when the manuscript was discovered in a secondhand bookshop by a member of the local literary elite. This book gained its popularity from the portrait it offers of a married couple whose loving relationship departs from the patriarchal norms of the time. Today it gives us a rare glimpse into private life at the end of the Qing dynasty. An English translation of the book was published by Lin Yutang in 1936. A version of Lin’s translation rendered into modern vernacular Chinese reached fourth place on the bestseller list in China. This newly written Kunqu libretto is inspired by Shen’s writings and has been performed successfully more than 60 times since its premiere in Suzhou, China, on August 17, 2018. The Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre The performers of the show come from this regional company, based in Jiangsu province. The Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre is one of the most prestigious companies in the art of Kunqu. Founded in 1956, this company performed both Kunqu operas and Su operas. Over recent decades, it has worked particularly in the southern part of Suzhou, in Shanghai, and in Zhejiang. In 2001, the company expanded and renamed itself “Suzhou Kunqu Opera Theatre of Jiangsu.” It has trained four generations of performers, about a hundred in all, among them renowned artists. In 2002, Wang Fang, Tao Hongzhen, Yang Xiaoyong, and Lü Fuhai received UNESCO’s “Kunqu Arts Promotion Prize.” It is a company that contributes to safeguarding, sustaining, and developing the unique classical art form that is Kunqu. A Yu Theatre production The Yu Theatre (YTC) is a theater label dedicated to building the theater industry and producing theater-related content, venues, and festivals. The label’s operating agencies are Ltd., Nanjing Xinyufang Culture Media Co., and the Nanjing Xinyufang Theatre & Opera Institute. Founded in 2013 by Michelle Xiao Yan, the Yu Theatre has contributed to many achievements in the field of theater, but also in video (film, television, advertising) and in international exchange.