House Of The Flying Water-Sleeves: Review: The Legend of Liu Yuniang (Shaoxing Yue Opera)

Title: The Legend of Liu Yuniang (柳玉娘)
Genre: Shaoxing Yue opera (越剧)
Format: Stage opera
Production year: Early - mid 80s
Director: Ma Ke, Zhang Liu
Script: Wei E, Shuang Ge
Music: Tan Shengxian, He Zhiwei
Scenography: Gong Jingchong
Casts: Zhou Yunjuan as Liu Yuniang, Zhang Weizhong as Ma Zhou, You Shangxiao as Li Shimin (Emperor Taizong of Tang), Chen Mingshui as Chang He, Li Peizhen as Madam Cheng.

At first glance...

This show was performed by Zhejiang Province Yue Opera Company troupe 3, one of the few Yue opera troupes which actually has got male and female actors acting alongside (most other Yue opera troupes only have female actors).

Synopsis

Liu Yuniang was a young widow who opened a pastry shop with her teenage sister-in-law in the capital Chang'an during the reign of Emperor Taizong in the Tang dynasty. One day, while she was visiting her uncle, who was a tarvern operator by the countryside, some rich people were having group hunting in the vicinity and her uncle's business was badly affected. On this particular day, a scholar named Ma Zhou dropped by for a rest. Ma Zhou was a well educated and intelligent man who was on his way to Chang'an to pursue his political ambitions. It happened that the "rich people" who were hunting nearby, was actually Emperor Taizong and his subordinates in disguise. When he returned to the tarvern after his hunting, he overheard Ma Zhou talking about political issues. Taizong was deeply impressed by Ma Zhou's talent that he wanted to take him in as his subject, but was later angered by Ma Zhou's straight-forwardness and left in a huff. Yuniang commended on Ma Zhou's integrity and talent, and welcomed him to look for her if he ever stepped foot in Chang'an.

Months passed and Yuniang was back in Chang'an. Being a widow and a shop owner, she had to fend off men who were lusting after her. One of her suitors was Chang He, a 4th graded official who wanted to make her his mistress. Meanwile, Ma Zhou was down with luck the moment he stepped into Chang'an as all recruitment halls in Chang'an closed door on him due to his arrogance. He finally decided to visit Yuniang, whom he regarded as his only soulmate, but was disappointed to know that she was a widow. Nevertheless, he still stayed in Yuniang's shop, and help ease Yuniang's financial burden by selling paintings by the streets. Little did he know, however, that nobody was interested in his paintings, and Yuniang had to secretly get people to buy the paintings from him so as to boost his ego and confidence. Yuniang's sister-in-law could not stand it one day and told him the truth. Ma Zhou was badly shaken and had thought of giving up his dreams. However, Yuniang consoled him and encouraged him to press on.

At this point of time, Chang He had started to make plans to bring Yuniang into his residence. However, with his strict wife Madam Cheng around, he had to lie that he was going to hire a in-house teacher for his son. His subordinate took it for real, and actually went to Yuniang's shop to bring back Ma Zhou. Chang He was very angry when he realised that the "bride" turned out to be Ma Zhou, and used harsh words to dispense him. Madam Cheng realised her husband's actions and was furious. She reminded that Emperor Taizong had actually ordered all court officials to submit a political thesis within the next few days, and suggested that he should go invite Ma Zhou back for assistance.

Ma Zhou's talent was finally put to good use and Emperor Taizong was greatly impressed by the thesis written by him. However, as the thesis was written in anonymity, Taizong asked Chang He who the author of the thesis was. Chang He thought that Ma Zhou had sprouted nonsense in the thesis and ordered Ma Zhou to be arrested and presented to the Emperor. Ma Zhou was shocked that the "rich man" back then was actually the Emperor, while Taizong was remorseful for not being humble enough to see Ma Zhou's true talent. From then, Ma Zhou was officially recruited into the court, while many officials tried to get into Ma Zhou's good books by offering their daughters to him...

Meanwhile, Yuniang was anxious about Ma Zhou as he had left for Chang He's residence for a long time without news. However, she heard a few rumours that Ma Zhou had became a high-ranking official and was offered many marriage proposals. At this juncture, Yuniang's uncle came back with the news that Ma Zhou had became the princess consort. Yuniang was heart-broken and cried. Chang He arrived to make marriage proposals to Yuniang and was scolded by Yuniang. Chang He quicked explained that the marriage proposal was not his, but Ma Zhou's. It turned out that Ma Zhou had rejected Taizong's intention to marry his sister the princess, and insisted on marrying his benefactor. Yuniang was delighted, but rejected Ma Zhou's proposal , thinking that she was just a plain lady unfit to be his wife. Ma Zhou explained that no other ladies could compare with her in terms of virtue, and begged her to agree to the marriage. Yuniang finally agreed and both were united under the witness of Taizong.

Review

This is one of the first Yue opera shows which I had watched. Unlike conventional Yue opera shows from other troupes, the actors in this show do not don traditional costumes with watersleeves. What they wore, however, were tailor-made costumes based on the clothing system of the Tang dynasty. The actress playing the role of Madam Cheng even had a big peony on her head, a very typical fashion statement in those days.

Other than the costumes, the music was quite different from conventional Yue opera music, which has always been labelled too soft and gentle. In this show, ancient bells, timpanis and big suonas (chinese trumpets) were used in certain scenes to create the majestic atmosphere needed, like in the opening score to the show, as well as the scene of the imperial palace and the finale.

The heroine of the show was acted by Zhou Yunjuan, a very famous Zhang-styled actress. Her singing was very soothing and her gestures were delicate. However, what impressed me was the emotions she projected in this show, not too subtle but not too exaggerating too. Zhang Weizhong, the male lead, could sing and act quite well, adding more dimension to his portrayal as the suave and talented Ma Zhou.

The script though, was rather average, as it looked like a typical scholar-and-virtous lady kind of story. It would be better if there were more emphasis on how their love and respect for each other, and how they encourage each other to press on with their live. The ending of the show was not well done too. After Ma Zhou's proposal to Yuniang, the ensemble actors danced and cheered for quite a while. This act was clearly to stall time as Yunjuan needed time to change into her phoenix gear and wedding robe. After which, Emperor Taizong appeared, and Ma Zhou and Yuniang came out to greet him. And then the show ended. This was far too abrupt!