Title: Summer Snow (六月雪)
Performer: Xu Yuxiang
Director: Wu Ziming
Background
"Summer Snow", also called "The Grievances of Dou E", was written by master scriptwriter Guan Hanqing in the Yuan dynasty, originally to show his dissatisfaction with the corrupted government of that era. This script has been adapted into many different modern opera genres, including Peking opera, Gaojia opera, Teochew opera and many others. The highlight of the show is the scene "Execution of Dou E", in which this excerpt here is based on.
Synopsis
Widow Dou E had been given the death sentence for she was accused for murdering her father-in-law, which was actually not true. The truth was that a father and son had lusted over Dou E's widowed mother-in-law and herself, and in order to make Dou E succumb to him, the son tried to poison Dou E's mother-in-law, but in accident, his father was poisoned to death instead. The son then tried to shift the blame onto Dou E's mother-in-law, but Dou E took the rap instead. Before her execution, Dou E made three wishes: first, her blood was to spill upwards onto a long white sash, and not onto the ground; second; Chuzhou will snow for 3 years to bury her body; third, a famine will take place after the snow for 3 years, to show her innocence.
Review
Xu Yuxiang is one of the all-rounded new bloods in the troupe. Not only can she sing well, she could act well in both wen and wu roles, and those in between. This excerpt is a good show to showcase her talent and there is a great deal of singing, acting and complex movements. If there was anything dissatisfactory, it would have to be the execution part, where Xu Yuxiang's landing on the ground should have coincided with the executing actions of the executioner, but unfortunately she landed too early, making that action seemed illogical.
Ratings
Script: * * * *
Music: * * * *
Directing sense: * * * *1/2
Acting: * * * *
Singing: * * * *
Final rating: * * * *
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