Peony Pavilion - Interrupted Dream, Kunqu Opera
By Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe of Jiangsu Province

Kunqu, or Kunshanqiang, first appeared in the late Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), some 600 years ago, in the lower Yangtze Valley. It was one of the earliest genres of drama and named for its birthplace.

Kunqu has a complete system of acting as well as its own distinctive tunes. Its wide-ranging repertoire has many delicate and elegant tunes. The orchestra consists of traditional instruments including the dizi, a horizontal bamboo flute which plays the lead part; the xiao, a vertical bamboo flute; the sheng, a mouth organ; and the pipa , a plucked string instrument with a fretted finger board. Many Chinese local operas are greatly influenced by its tunes and acting style.

The performance tradition has focused on the love story between Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei, though in its original text, it has strong elements of dramatic warfare (specifically set in the Song defense against the Jin Dynasty).

Du Liniang is the daughter of an important official. Her maid encourages her to abandon her dull studies and take a walk in the garden, where she falls asleep. She dreams of her lover Liu Mengmei, whom in real life she has never met, before being awoken by falling petals. Unable to recover the enchantment of her dream, she wastes away and dies.

In hell, the underworld judge determines that her marriage with Liu Mengmei is predestined, and that she cannot be retained. Instead, she is sent to haunt him, who now inhabits the garden where they had their dream. Recognising the girl he met in his dreams, he agrees to exhume her. Du Liniang asks him to go to tell her father the news of her resurrection, but he treats Liu Mengmei as a grave robber and impostor. In the end, Liu Mengmei is only saved from a tortuous death by the announcement of the results of the imperial exams. He has topped the list; the emperor pardons all.

The Peony Pavilion is distinguished by its beautiful and largely untranslatable poetry. The Dream Interrupted" and "Searching for the Dream" are considered masterpieces of music and craft.