King Oedipus, a Beijing opera based on the classic Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex was performed at Hangzhou Technology University yesterday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Zhejiang Opera Troupe. The traditional Chinese opera performance includes elements of singing, verse and acrobatics.

Set in a mythical era, Prince Oedipus defies the fate of killing his father and marrying his mother and becomes king, only to face the most horrible test he could imagine.

Weng Guo Sheng, a China Opera Plum Blossom award winner, plays the part of Oedipus and also co-directs the opera. The show comes to a climax when Oedipus pokes himself in the eye, blinding him. He desperately swings his scarlet red sleeves, which measure 3m in length, in the air as a dramatic indication of blood pouring out.

The extraordinary performance has received wide praise both in China and overseas. Last year, the troupe was invited to perform at Queens College, New York and Washington University, Washington DC. Earlier this year, an invitation was extended from Yale for the troupe to perform at the prestigious university. Founded in 1969, the Zhejiang Peking Opera Troupe is one of seven provincial troupes in Zhejiang and the only professional Peking opera troupe. It became a first-class troupe in 1988 and was chosen as one of the nationally important provincial Beijing-opera troupes by the China Ministry of Culture in 2005.

By Li Hui