Classic Peking Opera will be on show in New York

China National Peking Opera Company will perform Female Generals of the Yang Family in New York at the end of June. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

China National Peking Opera Company will perform Female Generals of the Yang Family and other classic arias in the Rose Theater at Lincoln Center, New York, on June 26-28. This will be the troupe's most significant performance in the United States.

Chen Ying, the deputy of the company, will lead more than 80 performers, musicians, stage artistic experts and dressers to New York. Among them will be famous Peking Opera artist Dong Yuanyuan and Zhang Jianguo. Young artists Zhang Lan and Guo Xiao, who will star in the performance, also will be featured.

The China Overseas Exchange Association sponsors the activity, while the Asian Culture and Media Group undertakes the show in New York. To satisfy Peking Opera fans and arouse other Americans' interest, the company selected Female Generals of the Yang Family, with both wonderful singing and fighting parts, will be performed for two days.

The story of Female Generals of the Yang Family is well-known to every household. It is from ancient Chinese historical fiction. During the reign of Emperor Renzong (1022-1063) in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the king of Xixia and his army invaded the border, and killed Marshal Yang Zongbao, who was in charge of guarding the frontier. Yang's grandmother, one hundred-year-old She Taijun, restrained her sadness, and led her daughter-in-law, granddaughter-in-law and great-grandson Yang Wenguang to defeat their enemy and return home gloriously.

China National Peking Opera Company will arrange a traditional highlights-from-Peking-Operas show. Artists will perform famous arias from The Legend of White Snake, The Jewelry Pouch, Taking the Tiger Mountain by Strategy and other classic Peking Operas.

According to China Press, the leading Chinese newspaper in the United States, Lu Weizhong and Yang Ling, the mainstays of the New York Chinese Opera Society (NYCOS), will participate in the performance of Female Generals of the Yang Family.

"Though I don't know what role I'll play in the show right now, I'm eager to cooperate with the China National Peking Opera Company. Female Generals of the Yang Family is a wonderful show. It must be welcomed by the audience as it always does. I'll try my best in the performance," Yang said.