The Interrupted Dream 惊梦 游园 from The Peony Pavilion 牡丹亭

The Peony Pavilion 牡丹亭: The Interrupted Dream 游园
Written by Tang Xianzu 汤显祖 (1550-1616)
Performed by Wang Xiaoyan (as Du Li Niang)
Developed in the Ming Dynasty (1346-1644), Kunqu 昆曲 Opera is widely respected as the most sophisticated form of Chinese opera. Of the works still in performance, The Peony Pavilion is considered the most representative of the Kunqu genre, and is known for its romantic story and exquisite style of singing and performance. The author Tang Xianzu lived at the same time as Shakespeare and wrote four major plays in sung poetic drama. The Peony Pavilion, perhaps Tang Xianzu’s most famous work, tells the story of sixteen-year-old Du Li Niang, who meets her future lover in a dream but, when she does not find him in real life, dies of lovesickness. Her lover eventually falls in love with her ghost, brings her back from the dead, and marries her. This scene occurs immediately before the fateful dream as Du Li Niang wanders in her garden among the peonies, Chinese flowers symbolizing both loss and victory.

[@poulsendean]

So many levels to understand and enjoy: libretto, vocabulary of movement and each meaning, make up,
beautiful music, context, character,etc....a high level and rewarding art form!

[@trowizilla]

I really enjoyed the portrayal of the young girl getting a reprieve from her sheltered existence behind a screen, the detail with which she observes the world around her, and the playfulness of her addressing the late-blossoming peony like a court lady who made an error in timing! It's all charming, and reading the description of the opera's plot makes this scene even more poignant. Thank you for posting! Is there a place online to watch the rest of this performance with English subtitles?