littlehint ofParis, orperhapsBerlinalong
theSpreeRiver,toNanjing.Theyarefamous
outsideofNanjingand inspiresomuchpas-
sionwithinthecitythatwhenanewsubway
project threatened toomany of the trees,
residentsdidsomethingtheydon’tdooften
orwithout great cause inChina: Theypro-
tested. Rallyingaround their “greenGreat
toChina.Eitherway,Nanjing isabouttoget
extremelypleasant.
S
TARTWITH THE TREES. THEY REALLY
are spectacular, particularly the
plane trees. They were planted early in
the last century to stand sentryalonga se-
ries of wide boulevards, and they bring a
less verbose, the production allows the story
itself to takecenter stage.Despitesomestunning
ensemble dancing and a string of beautiful sets,
the talestays focused tightlyon twoyoung lovers
whofirstmeet inadream, thenare separatedby
deathonly to
(SPOILERALERT)
reuniteagain in
the landof the living.
The play is a quintessential Nanjing artifact.
ThePeonyPavilion
is set there inpart. Its author,
TangXianzu, hada longcareer asabureaucrat in
Nanjingandelsewherebeforehe retired towrite,
asmanyphilosopher-politicians of theeradid.
Despite the age of the play (it was first per-
formed in 1598), the story still resonates in the
modernworld.Afterall, it’sabout thewishesand
intrigues of teenagers, especially of the heroine
Du Liniang, who decides that she would rather
die than live without her man. The close focus
on teenage love, with a healthy dose of the su-
pernatural, seemsmore like something from the
Twilight series thana400-year-oldplay.
And yet, the experienceof seeing it live, with
a first-ever U.S. performance by the four dozen
elite Jinling dancers, goes far beyond anything
you could see on the small screen. Come for the
love story, as they say, but stay for thedance.
Amagical scene from
ThePeonyPavilion
,
depicting twoyoung lovers separatedbydeath
but still struggling tobe together
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DECEMBER 01, 2011
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