Published on Jan 16, 2017

Rating:

Genre: NCPA

Dates: March 3-6, 2017

Venue: Opera House of NCPA

Prices: 100, 280, 380, 550, 600, 680, 880

Features: The Chinese original opera The Ballad of Canal is the first national opera presented by NCPA, in the style of folk singing. On March 3rd-6th, The Ballad of Canal will stage in Opera House of NCPA.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal with the history of over 2500 years is an artificial miracle on par with the Great Wall created by ancient Chinese. The original opera The Ballad of Canal is the first national opera presented by NCPA, in the style of folk singing. It describes the ups and downs of the characters on the canal and their vicissitudes including joys and sorrows, good and evil, life and death, as well as righteousness witnessed by the canal. The show integrates the cream of Chinese cultural essence like opera, folk songs and folk customs, showing the unique artistic texture and charisma of folk operas.

The creation of The Ballad of Canal takes two years. NCPA manages to develop a Chinese opera style different from the Western opera through the sincere and pragmatic artistic practices. The opera has gathered the top creation team in China including: director Liao Xianghong; writers Huang Weiruo and Dong Ni, jointly wrote a touching tearjerker story about Shui Honglian, Qin Xiaosheng and Guan Yanyan; the composer Yin Qing, once Sky Road and Entering a New Era, this time composed the beautiful melodies for the opera; the stage designer Liu Xinglin, presents a wonderful scroll of canal through his creative design. The opera is conducted by Lv Jia, the Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra of NCPA. Excellent singers like Wang Lida and Wang Hongwei are ready to offer you an opera feast with national aesthetic charms through their amazing performances.

SYNOPSIS
During the Ming Dynasty, scholar QIN Xiaosheng is captured by the police for exposing official's corruption cases in Hangzhou. The folk singer Shui Honglian, resisting being a concubine, also fleeds to the banks of the canal. The two meet up at the sacrifice ceremony for the Dragon King of the river, on a song and dance tournament. They pose as performer on the dragon boat and escape. QIN wears sailor LI Xiaoguan's abandoned uniform and forfeits as a sailor. They take the boat of Zhang Shuiyao and went north along the canal in exile.

Meeting in trouble, they fall in love with each other, but the ship owner ZHANG also has vicious love for SHUI. Over Suzhou pier, the ship encountered GUAN Yanyan, who, due to the romantic sailor Li's tricky plays, gave birth to a child and cried her eyes blind. ZHANG convicts QIN to be LI Xiaoguan. To avoid arrestment, QIN has no way to speak up but is forced to live together with GUAN. If the truth is told, GUAN will resort to suicide; QIN and SHUI are in immense grief.

ZHANG finds out QIN's true identity and informs the police. In danger and emergence, SHUI asks QIN to take GUAN, with visual inconveniences, to go first, and leaves behind to stall for time.

ZHANG bounds SHUI to lure Qin to come back. To save her love, SHUI ignites the lamp on board and burns the boat with herself on.

QIN wants to follow SHUI away. But GUAN asks him to finish the uncompleted cause of SHUI, QIN is thus moved. QIN and GUAN come to Beijing and decide to denounce the corrupt officials to the Emperor. SHUI's love, beyond common love of common human beings, makes QIN and GUAN find the home of soul of wanderers.

Tickets for NCPA Opera Commission The Ballad of Canal are Available now!