Title: Sorrowful Meeting at Shen Garden (沈园绝唱)
Performer: Zheng Yaling as Lu You
Director: Wu Ziming
Background
"Sorrowful Meeting at Shen Garden" is the final scene of "Lu You and Tang Wan", an award-winning Zhejiang Yueju opera show starring Mao Weitao and Chen Huiling as the title roles. This excerpt has been adapted into Teochew opera before as well.
Synopsis
After leaving home for three years, Lu You returned to his hometown full of thoughts. While Lu You is famed for his talent in poetry and passion in politics, his marriage with his cousin Tang Wan was unfortunately a failure. Old Madam Lu was so upset that Lu You's relationship with her had distanced since his son got married, and henced tried ways to separate them. To ease the tension, Lu You decided to leave for Fuzhou, not before writing a secret letter to Tang Wan, asking her to wait for 3 years for his return. Old Madam Lu got hold of the letter, and amended the letter so that it would read "wait for a hundred years", in an attempt to make Tang Wan think that Lu You is trying to divorce her. Tang Wan saw through old Madam Lu's tactics, and deciding not to create more tension between the mother and son, she decided to get remarried to Lu You's friend, Master Shen. This day, when Lu You arrived at Shen's Garden, he chanced upon Tang Wan again, and was shocked that everything had changed. In sorrow, he penned his famed poem "Phoenix Hairpin" on the walls of the Shen's Garden.
Review
Zheng Yaling has got her own singing style, which can be considered her asset. However, in terms of shenduan, she is relatively weaker. Fortunately in this excerpt, the gestures are all modeled after Mao Weitao's movements in the original Yueju version, and I feel that Yaling performed better now, except for the final sword dance, which I felt she did not make full use of the duration of the music. Having said so, it is still debatable as to whether or not the director should set a new directing style (in terms of gestures and costumes), instead of copying everything as they are from Yueju. To be honest, if one were to cover his/ her ears, and not look at Yaling's face, one would even be misled into thinking that he/ she is watching a Yueju excerpt.
Musically, I feel that this excerpt's composition is one of the more unique among all the other excerpts that the troupe is about to bring to Fuzhou for competition. Like in the opening of the scene, the "Xin Bei Diao" melody (新北调), which was usually meant for sorrowful scenes, was transposed from F to C key. This alteration of the pitch added a sense of spiritedness to the character of Lu You as a passionate politician. Also in the closing of the excerpt when Lu You was penning the poem and doing his sword dance, the music had been specially recomposed to suit Lu You's innermost feelings and conflicts.
Musically, I feel that this excerpt's composition is one of the more unique among all the other excerpts that the troupe is about to bring to Fuzhou for competition. Like in the opening of the scene, the "Xin Bei Diao" melody (新北调), which was usually meant for sorrowful scenes, was transposed from F to C key. This alteration of the pitch added a sense of spiritedness to the character of Lu You as a passionate politician. Also in the closing of the excerpt when Lu You was penning the poem and doing his sword dance, the music had been specially recomposed to suit Lu You's innermost feelings and conflicts.
Ratings
Script: * * * *
Music: * * * *1/2
Directing sense: * * * 1/2
Acting: * * * 1/2
Singing: * * * *
Final rating: * * * *
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