Opera brings Song-era splendor to modern stage

According to the director, the meticulous set design and the historically textured costumes also help narrate the story. The stage transforms into a bustling market and riverside teahouses of the Song capital, using reconfigurable wooden structures and gauze screens shaped like folding fans.

The lead sopranos, Xu Xiaoying and Yang Liying as Zhao, moved seamlessly from playful wit to defiant vulnerability; sopranos Zhou Chen and He Xiaonan charted Song's transformation from fragility to confidence; and mezzo-sopranos Cao Lin and Tang Lin gave Sun her warmhearted strength.