The Peony Pavilion
The Peony Pavilion ( Chinese 牡丹 亭 , Pinyin Mǔdān Tíng ) by the Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu (1550–1616) dates from the 16th century , is one of the great theater pieces in Chinese opera and is considered the most important Kunqu opera. The piece can be classified as Chuanqi . As in all Kunqu operas, the music is determined by the tone of the poetic characters, which in turn are subject to the strict rules of Qu poetry . The version of Ye Tang is considered authoritative for today's “Peony Pavilion”. The work is a kind of libretto to melodies that were already known at the time.
The "Peony Pavilion" is an opulent work that takes place in the Song Dynasty (960–1279). As in the plays of Tang Xianzu's contemporary Shakespeare , a multitude of other storylines with colorful characters are arranged around the central plot - a romantic and poetic love story with a “happy ending”. Intimate episodes alternate with noisy crowd scenes, lyrical poetry with burlesque comedy.
The protagonist, the unearthly beautiful Du Liniang ("Beautiful You"), meets her lover, the young scholar Liu Mengmei in an erotic dream. Unable to find him again in real life, she dies of a broken heart in endless longing. The judge of the underworld is overwhelmed by her feelings and beauty and allows her to return to earth as a spirit to continue searching for her beloved. Eventually the couple are united and Du Liniang can return to the living. The way to the happy end, however, is paved with adversity and complications, numerous adventures and problems with unbelieving parents, clumsy servants, Tatar hordes invading the country, bandits and much more must be endured.
In total, more than 160 characters appear in the work, which comprises 55 scenes and over 200 arias, and they are portrayed by 20 to 30 actors.
When it was translated into German in the 1930s , Vincenz Hundhausen was the first to translate Tang Xianzu's main work (= Tang Hsiän Dsu) into a European language. Individual lifts of the masterpiece by Tang Xianzu transmitted by Hundhausen also appeared separately in German as “printed as a manuscript across from the stages”; for example scenes 12 ("The search for the dream"), 23 ("The judgment in the tenth hell") and 50 ("The victory festival").
In the fall of 2001, the “Peony Pavilion” in the controversial production by Chen Shi-Zheng was shown on German television. The television version was made during a performance as part of the Festival d'Automne 1999 in the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris and used other Chinese arts in addition to Kunqu. The almost 19-hour original version was cut into 13 episodes of 60 minutes each and broadcast by 3sat in weekly programs. Due to the length of the original work, only individual scenes are usually performed in theatrical performances in Europe. In China (especially in Nanjing , Shanghai and Suzhou ) either classic scenes are performed individually or shortened overall versions are shown, spread over two or three evenings.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Vincenz Hundhausen, foreword / introduction ; in: Tang Hsiän Dsu, THE RETURN OF THE SOUL. A romantic drama (or: The Peony Arbor) . Zurich / Leipzig / Beijing; 1937. - Volume I: DREAM AND DEATH ; S. ix - xvii.
- ↑ See also Wolfgang Kubin , The Traditional Chinese Theater. From Mongolian Drama to Beijing Opera (2009; Volume 6 by Wolfgang Kubin, History of Chinese Literature ).
- ↑ Tang Hsiän Dsu, The Search for the Dream. German: Vincenz Hundhausen. Peking, undated (approx. 1930). - The scene communicated here corresponds to the 12th act of the drama The Päonienlaube or the return of the soul by Tang Xianzu (= Tang Hsiän Dsu), which was translated by V. Hundhausen.
- ↑ Tang Hsiän Dsu, The Judgment in the Tenth Hell. German: Vincenz Hundhausen. Peking, undated (approx. 1930). - The scene communicated here corresponds to the 23rd act of the drama The Peony Arbor or the Return of the Soul by Tang Xianzu (= Tang Hsiän Dsu).
- ↑ Tang Hsiän Dsu, The Victory Festival. German: Vincenz Hundhausen. Peking, undated (approx. 1930). - The scene communicated here corresponds to the 50th act of the drama The Peony Arbor or the Return of the Soul by Tang Xianzu (= Tang Hsiän Dsu).