Kun Opera: The Palace of Eternal Youth
Performed by Wang Fang, Zhao Wenlin
Language: Chinese
Published by Zhejiang Audio-Visual Publishing House, 2005
Media: 3 DVDs
ISBN: 788399820X
ISRC: CNE130500160
 
The Palace of Eternal Youth is one of the most celebrated Kunqu opera classics, recently the most impressive opus from the Jiangsu Kun Opera. The play narrates the tragic love story of Tang Emperor Li Longji and his concubine Yang Yuhuan, one of the most favorite ancient beauties in China. Their legend conveys the universal value that true love will transcend the boundaries of time and overcome all difficulties. Directed by Gu Duhuang, the 77-year-old well-known Kun Opera scholar, performed by famous actors Wang Fang and Zhao Wenlin, the Jiangsu Kun Opera Troupe, with Oscar-winning Hong Kong designer Yipm Kam-tim working on costuming stage design, the production of the Palace of Eternal Youth is bear watching for theater lovers.
Kun Opera, one of the oldest forms of opera in China, is proclaimed one of the 19 masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage of humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 2001, Uniquely blending singing, dancing, and acting, this 600-year-old art form has profound influence on hundreds of musical theaters, including the Peking Opera, it is most prominent descendant.

With the three parts of theater performance in DVD media, you have a chance to watch the great Kunqu opera performance of one hundred years from its origin.