Photo Coverage: Kunqu Opera Actors Perform 'The Peony Pavilion' in Beijing

Opera actors perform The Peony Pavilion at a theatre in Beijing September 24, 2010. The Kunqu opera is a traditional folk opera that originated from Kunshan, Jiangsu province. With a history for over 500 years, Kunqu opera is known for its graceful movements and poetic lyrics. Broadway World brings you an exclusive look at the production below.

According to an article for Beijing This Month, "Kunqu Opera's Peony Pavilion is one of the best and most revered plays in China's operatic history. But the play is almost inaccessible to many, whether Chinese or foreigners, because the original Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) production by Tan Xianzu had 55 scenes and 403 arias. Productions of the full play in the late 1990s and early 2000s ran to 20 hours. Other truncated versions of the production have appeared in Beijing in recent years running to four hours in length. So it is to the credit of everyone associated with the Imperial Granary production of The Peony Pavilion, now being performed on Friday and Saturday nights at the Nanxincang Imperial Granary at 22 Dongsishitiao off the Second Ring Road in Beijing, that they have succeeded in boiling the epic down to a sterling 120 minutes (including an intermission) that you are sure to enjoy, whether you know a thing about Chinese opera, Kunqu or The Peony Pavilion."

Photo Credit: REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic