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THE ATE RGOE RS know well that the venue is a key factor in the experience of watching a play. So when the Kunqu Opera classic Peony Pavilion was staged in the Chinese-style garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York it promised something very special for both its producers and audience.
On the night of November 30， 2012， the curtain lifted on the Kunqu Opera version of this 16th-century play directed by Oscar and Grammy winning composer Tan Dun. When it concluded 70 minutes later， the American audience gave it a standing ovation.
Kunqu’s Garden Stage
Kunqu Opera， with a history of more than 600 years， is considered to be the source of all Chinese folk operas， and was acknowledged by UNESCO as an“Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity，” the first Chinese cultural heritage to receive this recognition. Peony Pavilion， created by Ming Dynasty playwright Tang X ianzu （1550-1616） in 1598， remains an enduring piece in the Kunqu repertoire and has also been rendered in several other styles of folk opera.
The play tells of the strange romance between a man and a ghost. Young scholar Liu Mengmei and a magistrate’s daughter named Du Liniang meet in a dream and fall in love. Yearning for the boy she met in her dream Du buries a self-portrait beneath the rockery in a garden， and soon after the lovelorn girl dies of a broken heart.
Three years later Liu comes to this very garden and discovers the picture. This， he realizes， was the girl he had dreamt of， and later Du returns to him in his dreams. His love for this mysterious girl moves him to reopen her tomb， and as the stale air stirs， Du comes back to life. Together at last， the couple meet vehement opposition from Du’s father， but their passion prevails and the play ends with their marriage.
In recent years， as traditional Chinese operas have regained popularity among Chinese viewers， there have been several versions of this story interpreted on the stage. The most successful retelling was a youth version by Suzhou Kunqu Opera House， a 90-minute adaptation first staged in a refurbished barn belonging to the Qing imperial court in Beijing.
Tan Dun’s offering has been referred to as the “garden” version because it dé-buted abroad in the Met’s Astor Court， whose design is based on the 12th-century Master-of-Nets （Wangshi） Garden in Suzhou. Free of the conventional array of props and stage， the performance unfurled among natural scenery， producing a fascinating atmosphere that was both realistic and fantastical. The accompanying music， with its ingenious imitation of the sound of flowing water created by the bamboo flute， Chinese lute， zither and percussion， deepened the ethereal atmosphere of the setting. The day before opening night Tan Dun attended “A Conversation with Tan Dun at the Met” and shared his life experiences and thoughts on creating Kunqu Opera in modern times.
At the event he recalled his first brush with the ancient art form when he was studying composition at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. “One day I met with Yang Chunxia， who starred in Dujuan Mountain （one of the revolutionary Peking Opera plays officially sanctioned during the “cultural revolution”）， and learnt she had actually started her career as a Kunqu Opera singer. She performed an aria from Peony Pavilion for me， and I was mesmerized. I immediately fell in love with Kunqu.”
Tan also explained his decision to set the performance in a real garden， saying that it came to him in an epiphany when he was in a traditional Chinese courtyard. As he was enjoying the sounds of birds and insects amid the babble of flowing water the peace was suddenly disrupted by a gust of wind. When it passed the music of nature returned， and he thought to himself： “Oh my， that’s Kunqu. This is why in old times the opera was staged in gardens instead of theaters.”
It was popular practice among the upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644） to host Kunqu performance in their private gardens， and Tan Dun sees good reason for that. “A garden， with its flora and fauna， is a medium of communication between its occupants， heaven and earth.”
Intent on offering their audience a perfect recreation of the ambience of the archetypal Chinese garden， Tan’s production team imported huge numbers of props into the U.S.， including 24 purebred Chinese goldfish and recordings of birds singing in the garden on which the Astor Court was modeled.
“This retrofit of Peony Pavilion is what I envisioned in my mind， one of unsophisticated beauty as it was back in the Ming Dynasty，” Tan Dun told reporters after the performance.
Zhang Jun， who brings the play’s hero to life， said the distinctiveness of Tan’s Peony Pavilion lies in this unconventional setting. “Every garden is unique. Before performing in a new location， we would spend days studying it and modify our performance to make it fit into the surroundings. This way every group of performances at a different venue is one of a kind.”
Zhang Ran， who plays the ghost lover， confessed that she found it more of a challenge to perform in the Astor Court than in the Kezhi Garden in Zhujiajiao， an ancient town in Shanghai’s suburbs， where the play had previously been staged for two years. “The performance space is much smaller at the Metropolitan Museum of Art， and it’s closer to the auditorium. Every nuance of the players’body movements and facial expressions was discernible to the audience.” Cultural Barrier？
Tan Dun’s version of Peony Pavilion has only four acts， compared with the original 55. It was first staged in a private mansion built at the beginning of the 20th century in Shanghai’s Zhujiajiao Town. It was there that Maxwell K. Hearn， curator of the Met’s Asian Art Department， watched this version and proposed to Tan Dun that they bring it to the Metropolitan Museum.
There could be no better site in the U.S. to present this Kunqu classic than the Astor Court. Conceived of by the museum’s trustee Brook Astor， who spent a period of her childhood in Beijing， the installation was created and assembled in 1981 by expert craftsmen from China using traditional methods， materials and hand tools. Its design was masterminded by Professor Chen Congzhou， an architectural historian from Shanghai’s Tongji University. The project was the first collaboration in gardening art between the U.S. and the PRC.
Prior to the American debut of Peony Pavilion there were concerns that cultural barriers might prohibit American audiences from properly apprehending a native Chinese theatrical genre. But Maxwell K. Hearn brushed off such worries， saying that Italian opera is enjoyed all over the world by many who don’t understand the Italian language. He was confident this charming tale told through ancient Chinese opera would win over American audiences.
“Peony Pavilion is a love story. And love， an essential human emotion， is a perpetual theme in artistic creations worldwide，” said Zhu Wanjin， China’s deputy consul general to New York. He lauded its performance in the U.S. as a significant event in the bilateral cultural exchanges in a year that marked the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s visit to China and the publication of Sino-U.S. Joint Communiqué.
Mr. Zhu believed the abridged version of Peony Pavilion， which was originally 20-plus hours long， sets a good example for the adaptation of traditional operas to modern lifestyles and preferences. He noted that China’s traditional operas are losing their appeal to the younger generation because of their grueling length and excruciatingly slow pace. The condensed remake focuses on the central plot and leading characters， and integrates the highbrow aesthetics of yesteryear with present-day popular tastes， expanding its relevance to audiences of varied cultural backgrounds.
Zhu’s opinion has been substantiated by the warm response from the Americans who watched the play at Astor Court. With the help of subtitles they could easily follow the thoughts， feelings and actions of the characters.“It’s terrific，” remarked Joan Lebold Cohen， an art historian， photographer and curator who has studied Chinese art for decades. She admitted that if the play had dragged on for hours like a traditional Kunqu Opera normally does， she would have become bored and restive. But she was enthralled from start to finish by the abridged Met version. Waking a Sleeping Beauty
Peony Pavilion is part of the Met’s celebration of Chinese gardens for which it has set aside eight galleries to showcase the exhibition’s collection of paintings and objects. On entering “Chinese Gardens： Pavilions， Studios， Retreats”the visitor enters a world of both nature and the supernatural that embraces the transient quality of gardens and their in- habitants as they constantly bloom and wilt.
Shirley Young， chair of the U.S.-China Cultural Institute and co-producer of the play， told the audience of a special preview the night before the opening that bringing Peony Pavilion into one of the world’s greatest museums was a rare and valued experience for the art of Kunqu and a fresh experiment for the Met. The show was attended by several of the most esteemed personalities from the international art world， including directors of some of the world’s bestknown museums.
That night Tan Dun also elaborated on the inspiration behind the production. “I aspired to do a Kunqu in a real garden as early as five years ago. Today my dream comes true. I have been looking for Chinese beauty， which I think is encoded in gardens and courtyards. Today I find Chinese beauty in New York： it can be discerned in the singers’ voice， in the space around us and in Kunqu.”
The composer also said that during extensive travels around the world he has noticed that there are Chinese-style gardens and courtyard complexes in almost every major city. These islands of Chinese culture are generally either tokens of twin city partnerships or donations from local Chinese expats. These installations of high artistic and cultural value are nevertheless often neglected as no more than venues for leisure time. “I told myself： I am going to bring Peony Pavilion to Chinese gardens in every part of the planet， bringing these sleeping beauties to life with the powerful music of Kunqu，” Tan Dun said.
He is on the way to fulfilling this ambition. Following its strong début in New York， his Peony Pavilion has received invitations from other U.S. cities. Musée du Louvre and the British Museum have also expressed interest in importing the spectacle to their own premises.
Victorian-era English author Samuel Butler once wrote that the history of art is the history of revivals – a maxim that Kunqu Opera is soon expected to prove. The success of Peony Pavilion heralds a new chapter in the venerable art form’s development， opening this former preserve of China’s well read and wellborn up to a whole new audience.
On the night of November 30， 2012， the curtain lifted on the Kunqu Opera version of this 16th-century play directed by Oscar and Grammy winning composer Tan Dun. When it concluded 70 minutes later， the American audience gave it a standing ovation.
Kunqu’s Garden Stage
Kunqu Opera， with a history of more than 600 years， is considered to be the source of all Chinese folk operas， and was acknowledged by UNESCO as an“Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity，” the first Chinese cultural heritage to receive this recognition. Peony Pavilion， created by Ming Dynasty playwright Tang X ianzu （1550-1616） in 1598， remains an enduring piece in the Kunqu repertoire and has also been rendered in several other styles of folk opera.
The play tells of the strange romance between a man and a ghost. Young scholar Liu Mengmei and a magistrate’s daughter named Du Liniang meet in a dream and fall in love. Yearning for the boy she met in her dream Du buries a self-portrait beneath the rockery in a garden， and soon after the lovelorn girl dies of a broken heart.
Three years later Liu comes to this very garden and discovers the picture. This， he realizes， was the girl he had dreamt of， and later Du returns to him in his dreams. His love for this mysterious girl moves him to reopen her tomb， and as the stale air stirs， Du comes back to life. Together at last， the couple meet vehement opposition from Du’s father， but their passion prevails and the play ends with their marriage.
In recent years， as traditional Chinese operas have regained popularity among Chinese viewers， there have been several versions of this story interpreted on the stage. The most successful retelling was a youth version by Suzhou Kunqu Opera House， a 90-minute adaptation first staged in a refurbished barn belonging to the Qing imperial court in Beijing.
Tan Dun’s offering has been referred to as the “garden” version because it dé-buted abroad in the Met’s Astor Court， whose design is based on the 12th-century Master-of-Nets （Wangshi） Garden in Suzhou. Free of the conventional array of props and stage， the performance unfurled among natural scenery， producing a fascinating atmosphere that was both realistic and fantastical. The accompanying music， with its ingenious imitation of the sound of flowing water created by the bamboo flute， Chinese lute， zither and percussion， deepened the ethereal atmosphere of the setting. The day before opening night Tan Dun attended “A Conversation with Tan Dun at the Met” and shared his life experiences and thoughts on creating Kunqu Opera in modern times.
At the event he recalled his first brush with the ancient art form when he was studying composition at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. “One day I met with Yang Chunxia， who starred in Dujuan Mountain （one of the revolutionary Peking Opera plays officially sanctioned during the “cultural revolution”）， and learnt she had actually started her career as a Kunqu Opera singer. She performed an aria from Peony Pavilion for me， and I was mesmerized. I immediately fell in love with Kunqu.”
Tan also explained his decision to set the performance in a real garden， saying that it came to him in an epiphany when he was in a traditional Chinese courtyard. As he was enjoying the sounds of birds and insects amid the babble of flowing water the peace was suddenly disrupted by a gust of wind. When it passed the music of nature returned， and he thought to himself： “Oh my， that’s Kunqu. This is why in old times the opera was staged in gardens instead of theaters.”
It was popular practice among the upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644） to host Kunqu performance in their private gardens， and Tan Dun sees good reason for that. “A garden， with its flora and fauna， is a medium of communication between its occupants， heaven and earth.”
Intent on offering their audience a perfect recreation of the ambience of the archetypal Chinese garden， Tan’s production team imported huge numbers of props into the U.S.， including 24 purebred Chinese goldfish and recordings of birds singing in the garden on which the Astor Court was modeled.
“This retrofit of Peony Pavilion is what I envisioned in my mind， one of unsophisticated beauty as it was back in the Ming Dynasty，” Tan Dun told reporters after the performance.
Zhang Jun， who brings the play’s hero to life， said the distinctiveness of Tan’s Peony Pavilion lies in this unconventional setting. “Every garden is unique. Before performing in a new location， we would spend days studying it and modify our performance to make it fit into the surroundings. This way every group of performances at a different venue is one of a kind.”
Zhang Ran， who plays the ghost lover， confessed that she found it more of a challenge to perform in the Astor Court than in the Kezhi Garden in Zhujiajiao， an ancient town in Shanghai’s suburbs， where the play had previously been staged for two years. “The performance space is much smaller at the Metropolitan Museum of Art， and it’s closer to the auditorium. Every nuance of the players’body movements and facial expressions was discernible to the audience.” Cultural Barrier？
Tan Dun’s version of Peony Pavilion has only four acts， compared with the original 55. It was first staged in a private mansion built at the beginning of the 20th century in Shanghai’s Zhujiajiao Town. It was there that Maxwell K. Hearn， curator of the Met’s Asian Art Department， watched this version and proposed to Tan Dun that they bring it to the Metropolitan Museum.
There could be no better site in the U.S. to present this Kunqu classic than the Astor Court. Conceived of by the museum’s trustee Brook Astor， who spent a period of her childhood in Beijing， the installation was created and assembled in 1981 by expert craftsmen from China using traditional methods， materials and hand tools. Its design was masterminded by Professor Chen Congzhou， an architectural historian from Shanghai’s Tongji University. The project was the first collaboration in gardening art between the U.S. and the PRC.
Prior to the American debut of Peony Pavilion there were concerns that cultural barriers might prohibit American audiences from properly apprehending a native Chinese theatrical genre. But Maxwell K. Hearn brushed off such worries， saying that Italian opera is enjoyed all over the world by many who don’t understand the Italian language. He was confident this charming tale told through ancient Chinese opera would win over American audiences.
“Peony Pavilion is a love story. And love， an essential human emotion， is a perpetual theme in artistic creations worldwide，” said Zhu Wanjin， China’s deputy consul general to New York. He lauded its performance in the U.S. as a significant event in the bilateral cultural exchanges in a year that marked the 40th anniversary of President Nixon’s visit to China and the publication of Sino-U.S. Joint Communiqué.
Mr. Zhu believed the abridged version of Peony Pavilion， which was originally 20-plus hours long， sets a good example for the adaptation of traditional operas to modern lifestyles and preferences. He noted that China’s traditional operas are losing their appeal to the younger generation because of their grueling length and excruciatingly slow pace. The condensed remake focuses on the central plot and leading characters， and integrates the highbrow aesthetics of yesteryear with present-day popular tastes， expanding its relevance to audiences of varied cultural backgrounds.
Zhu’s opinion has been substantiated by the warm response from the Americans who watched the play at Astor Court. With the help of subtitles they could easily follow the thoughts， feelings and actions of the characters.“It’s terrific，” remarked Joan Lebold Cohen， an art historian， photographer and curator who has studied Chinese art for decades. She admitted that if the play had dragged on for hours like a traditional Kunqu Opera normally does， she would have become bored and restive. But she was enthralled from start to finish by the abridged Met version. Waking a Sleeping Beauty
Peony Pavilion is part of the Met’s celebration of Chinese gardens for which it has set aside eight galleries to showcase the exhibition’s collection of paintings and objects. On entering “Chinese Gardens： Pavilions， Studios， Retreats”the visitor enters a world of both nature and the supernatural that embraces the transient quality of gardens and their in- habitants as they constantly bloom and wilt.
Shirley Young， chair of the U.S.-China Cultural Institute and co-producer of the play， told the audience of a special preview the night before the opening that bringing Peony Pavilion into one of the world’s greatest museums was a rare and valued experience for the art of Kunqu and a fresh experiment for the Met. The show was attended by several of the most esteemed personalities from the international art world， including directors of some of the world’s bestknown museums.
That night Tan Dun also elaborated on the inspiration behind the production. “I aspired to do a Kunqu in a real garden as early as five years ago. Today my dream comes true. I have been looking for Chinese beauty， which I think is encoded in gardens and courtyards. Today I find Chinese beauty in New York： it can be discerned in the singers’ voice， in the space around us and in Kunqu.”
The composer also said that during extensive travels around the world he has noticed that there are Chinese-style gardens and courtyard complexes in almost every major city. These islands of Chinese culture are generally either tokens of twin city partnerships or donations from local Chinese expats. These installations of high artistic and cultural value are nevertheless often neglected as no more than venues for leisure time. “I told myself： I am going to bring Peony Pavilion to Chinese gardens in every part of the planet， bringing these sleeping beauties to life with the powerful music of Kunqu，” Tan Dun said.
He is on the way to fulfilling this ambition. Following its strong début in New York， his Peony Pavilion has received invitations from other U.S. cities. Musée du Louvre and the British Museum have also expressed interest in importing the spectacle to their own premises.
Victorian-era English author Samuel Butler once wrote that the history of art is the history of revivals – a maxim that Kunqu Opera is soon expected to prove. The success of Peony Pavilion heralds a new chapter in the venerable art form’s development， opening this former preserve of China’s well read and wellborn up to a whole new audience.