Legend of fairy

By Chen Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-08-01 11:17

A new Peking Opera production of the popular Chinese fairytale White Snake will debut at the National Center for the Performing Arts.

Staged for the Beijing Olympic Arts Festival, the show combines Peking Opera, dance, acrobatics, symphonic music and multi-media installations.

Veteran playwright Zou Jingzhi, who is famous for writing scripts for TV series and dramas, rewrites the legend of the fairy Bai Suzhen.She has practiced Buddhism for thousands of years, can metamorphose into a beautiful woman and now wants to taste the love of a human being. She falls in love with Xu Xian at the Broken Bridge on West Lake and wants to marry him. Fa Hai, a monk at Gold Mountain Temple, prevents the fairy snake from marrying him and puts her under the Leifeng Pagoda. Many years later she is rescued by her young sister Xiao Qing.

After its premiere, the show will tour the Phoenix Theater in Venice.

7:30 pm, Aug 13, 14

National Center for the Performing Arts, West of Tian'anmen Square

6655-0000