Over the past six days, the China Central Ballet Troupe has stunned Shenzhen audiences with Raise the Red Lantern, a sumptuous theatrical spectacle that tells a tragic love story.

Set in the 1920s, the ballet is a simplified and romanticized adaptation of Zhang Yimou's film with the same name.

In the overture, Zhang Jian performs on her own as a shy schoolgirl in a modest white dress. She is the third wife-to-be of a Beijing opera actor, with whom she is in love.

Shortly afterward, four loyal servants of a local feudal lord kidnap the schoolgirl in a bridal sedan and force her to marry the lord, who already has two wives.

With his three wives, the lord indulges in Beijing opera and mahjong. In the early part of Act II, the performance of Beijing opera is perfectly integrated into the story line, as the third wife inadvertently meets her opera-actor boyfriend, and they secretly rekindle their love.

The jealous second wife wants to take advantage of the affair, hoping to regain the master's affection, by informing him of the secret tryst. The lord catches the two lovers red-handed, but is angry at the efforts of his second wife.

Stricken by despair, the second wife destroys the red lanterns, symbols of the lord's favor. Mad about the fact, the lord orders to put the second wife (and the third wife and her boyfriend) to death.

At the execution ground, the three reconcile before they receive their fatal punishment.

Three scenes in the ballet are undoubtedly impressive. Toward the end of Act I, there is a rape scene, where the third wife struggles in vain against the lord in the nuptial chamber. Their entangled silhouettes expand and shrink against a large screen. Rejecting the lord's advances, she bursts through the screen again and again. Then, the two are covered under an enormous sheet of scarlet fabric, spilling over the stage like a sea of blood.

In the second half of Act II, there is a mahjong scene. The symphony orchestra mimic the sounds of shuffling mahjong tiles while four players sit at each table with their outstretched arms in space.

Come the finale, the three sinners are brought to the execution ground, where the remorseful second wife begs for the couple's forgiveness, and the third wife dances her last pas de deux with the Beijing opera actor.

The executioners batter a white-paneled wall relentlessly with their red-tipped staves, leaving behind blood-red stripes; the three stagger in pain until the thrashing finally stops. Their lifeless bodies lie in a heap, decorated by a light snowfall.

 
Editor: Catherine