Artist
TANG Yuen-ha
Hong Kong’s iconic figure of Peking opera and Kunqu opera
Founder/Artistic Director/principal actress of Jingkun Theatre
Recipient of the Plum Blossom Award (1991), China’s highest honour for theatrical performer; the Outstanding Performance Award at the 3rd China Peking Opera Festival (2001); the Award for Best Artist (Xiqu), Hong Kong Arts Development Awards (2008); the Medal of Honour from the Hong Kong Government (2010)
Performed in Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Paris, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, London, York, Geneva, etc
Major Performances: The Legend of the White Snake, The Peony Pavilion, Black Dragon Residence, The Great Heroine, Wu Song and Pan Jinlian, etc.
Website
Work
Seeking the Dream & Self-Portrait
from The Peony Pavilion (Kunqu Opera)
Tang Yuen-ha takes on the lead role of Du Liniang in the famous opera classic The Peony Pavilion written in 1598. In the first scene Seeking the Dream, Du Liniang goes into the garden with her maid. In a drowsy trance, Liniang dreams she has amorous relations with a young scholar by the Peony Pavilion. Haunted by sweet memories, she returns alone to the garden the next day, trying to revisit every spot and relive every moment of her dream…
In Self-Portrait, Liniang is now thin and frail. As she beholds herself in the mirror, she decides to paint a likeness of herself before her beauty fades entirely. She instructs her maid that when she dies, the painting must be buried in the garden. Her hope is that if ever the young scholar of her dream comes to this place, he may find the portrait and they may meet again.
