DALLAS, TX (December 28, 2007) - The Chinese American Inter-Cultural Exchange Foundation (CAICE Foundation) is proud to announce the U.S. debut of the first Western-style interpretation of the classic Chinese opera, Farewell My Concubine. This production is the first performance of the newly-scored opera, one of the rare times that an original Chinese opera will be performed in the U.S. by a Chinese cast and sung in Mandarin. This tour also marks the inaugural appearance of China National Opera House, one of China's premier arts groups, in the United States.
The six-city tour kicks off January 12th in San Francisco followed by Pasadena, Washington, D.C., New York, before coming to Houston and Dallas.
The heart and soul behind this Western-style production of Farewell My Concubine is internationally-renowned Chinese composer and conductor Xiao Bai. For the past 18 years, Xiao Bai labored to score a Western version of the traditional Chinese story, with the dream of one day presenting his opera to an international audience.
With the support of Emily Kuo Vong and the CAICE Foundation, a Dallas-based non-profit organization promoting cultural exchange between China and the U.S. through the arts, Xiao Bai and the China National Opera House are presenting, for the first time, the Western interpretation of Farewell My Concubine outside of China.
To Westernize the opera, Xiao Bai worked with famed librettist Wang Jian. Together, the two artists developed a new "Western-style" production distinct from traditional "Beijing-style" opera (incorporating instrumental music, vocal performance, pantomime, dance and acrobatics). This version of Farewell My Concubine captures the framework of a classic Italian opera, but is sung entirely in Mandarin with English subtitles.
Farewell My Concubine is based on real events and characters from over 2,200 years ago in China. Set at the end of the Qin dynasty, the love story revolves around the heroic warrior, Xiang Yu, and his beloved concubine, Yu Ji. The story remains very popular today, and almost everyone in present-day China is familiar with its theme, characters and ill-fated romance.
The new, Westernized production of Farewell My Concubine staged its world premiere in Beijing in October 2007, and will be performing in six cities across the United States in 2008:
- January 12 and 13 - War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, CA
- January 19, 20 - The Pasadena Civic, Pasadena, CA
- January 25 - DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C.*
- January 27 - Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, New York, NY*
- January 30, 31 - The Cullen Theater at the Wortham Center, Houston, TX*
- February 5, 6 - Eisemann Center, Dallas, TX
* Concert-style production
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