Peking Opera To Return To The U.S. Stage After A Decade at Lincoln Center

Peking Opera (京剧) will return to the U.S. stage after a ten year absence in a fresh, contemporary format on January 17 and 18, 2025 at Lincoln Center, New York. Westward Spread of Eastern Opera is part of the inaugural Cultural Heritage Festival organized and produced by Oever, a culture and media organization dedicated to revitalizing and preserving the legacy of traditional Chinese arts and culture for global audiences interested in visual culture.

For over 235 years, Peking Opera has been a cornerstone of China's cultural tapestry. Its vast repertoire, encompassing more than a thousand works drawn from Chinese history, folklore, classic literature, and daily life has long enthralled audiences across generations. Though internationally known, its live presence in the U.S. has been scarce-until now.

Yet today, as younger audiences turn to new forms of visual entertainment, attendance at traditional theater performances is waning-placing Peking Opera's continued vitality in jeopardy. This new Cultural Heritage Festival aims to counter this trend.

Envisioned by Oever Founder Meng Shi, whose father Xiaoliang Shi (石晓亮), is a revered opera master and recipient of the prestigious Plum Blossom Award, one of China's highest honors in traditional theater, this Peking Opera program titled Westward Spread of Eastern Opera will be presented in collaboration with Tianjin Peking Opera Theater, Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe, and Tianjin Art Vocational College.

Its fresh interpretation, which honors the long, intergenerational legacy of Peking Opera, pairs timeless repertoire with contemporary stagecraft, interactive experiences and English subtitles, and offers U.S. audiences an accessible and immersive introduction to one of China's most celebrated performing arts. Encompassing the full breadth of Peking Opera's narrative and aesthetic richness- romance, loyalty, rebellion, and heroism will be expressed through tightly woven plots that captivate audiences with their dramatic twists and turns, making the performances more fast-paced and engaging, intricate vocal performances, instrumental music, a focus on martial-infused choreography, mime, dance, and acrobatics, and new digital technology that invite audiences to connect with its timeless artistry on a personal level.

This production unites three generations of Peking Opera talent, underscoring the art form's enduring vitality and the legacy passed down through time. Esteemed masters Xiaoliang Shi (石晓亮) and Xiujun Zhao (赵秀君)-both recipients of the prestigious Plum Blossom Award-are joined by celebrated performer Chunyuan Tang (唐春园), who has appeared on the globally renowned CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and seven-year-old prodigy Zhiyuan Zheng (郑智元), already a veteran of significant stages. Their collective presence exemplifies how Peking Opera's rich tradition continues to flourish and inspire new audiences.

Westward Spread of Eastern Opera features four classic Peking Opera plays, each illustrating the genre's narrative complexity, vibrant musicality, and intricate choreography:

• Jinshan Temple from Legend of the White Snake: Two snake spirits assume human form, navigating themes of love, sacrifice, and defiance against moral judgment.

• Three Times Stealing the Nine-Dragon Goblet: A chivalrous adventure of daring thefts to right wrongs and restore justice.

• Farewell My Concubine: A tragic, heroic love story set amid the fall of an empire, exemplifying devotion, loyalty, and noble sacrifice.

• Uproar in Heaven, adapted from Journey to the West: The rebellious Monkey King challenges the heavens, symbolizing resistance, individual freedom, and the spirit of defiance.

Additionally, from January 10-12, as part of Oever's Cultural Heritage Festival, Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting, a dance drama that transports viewers into the creative world of 12th-century painter Wang Ximeng and his masterpiece A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains, will be presented.

From January 14-18, a curated artisan marketplace inside Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater invites visitors to engage with indigenous artisans and observe demonstrations of intangible cultural heritage techniques-such as Hanfu Performance, showcasing traditional Chinese attire with elegant movements; Guqin Recital, featuring serene compositions on the seven-stringed zither: Tea Culture, exploring East Asian tea traditions and rituals; Mother-of-Pearl Inlay, a decorative craft using iridescent shell designs and Tuan Fan (Round Fan), a traditional Chinese fan, known for its elegant, round shape and delicate designs.