9-year-old Bateer, 47-year-old Hu Wenge and 80-year-old Mei Baojiu sing famous Peking Opera piece The Drunken Beauty together on 2014 Mid-autumn Festival Gala. They sing different lines of the leading role respectively.
This video means a lot to traditional Chinese culture and Peking Opera lovers. See the expression of that grandma audience? That’s how every Chinese feels. Introduction of the three performers according to orders coming on stage:
1. Bateer(巴特尔), 9 years old, he has great talents and began to sing at 2 years old. He belongs to the Mei Lanfang (梅兰芳) school of Peking Opera, the most distinguished of all Peking Opera schools..
2. Hu Wenge(胡文阁), the third-generation successor of the Mei school of Peking Opera. For the past 50 years,he has been the only male Dan, one of the key roles in Peking Opera performance, of the Mei school.
3. Mei Baojiu(梅葆玖), master of Peking Opera and leader of the Mei school, he is also the youngest son of maestro Mei Lanfang(梅兰芳). He devotes his life to Peking Opera art and has many famous students. Bando Tamasaburo used to learn 台步 and 水袖 from him. Basically Mei Baojiu is a living cultural heritage of Peking Opera.
The movements, expressions, positions, gestures and sing of them are amazing, especially Mei Baojiu, even people who know nothing about Peking Opera could feel it. The audience can see how Peking Opera art is passing down from one generation to another.
Notes: The Drunken Beauty, aka 贵妃醉酒, tells the story of how imperial consort Yang Guifei waited in the pavilion for the emperor to drink with her, background set in Tang Dynasty. This opera is a standby in the repertoire of actors in the Mei Langfang School of Beijing Opera. At the mere mention Beijing Opera, people will immediately think of Mei Langfang, and his most representative role in The Drunken Beauty.
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moonbeam-on-changan: 9-year-old Bateer, 47-year-old Hu Wenge...
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