Chinese Opera Star to Lead One-Man I, HAMLET at Asia Society

Asia Society and China Shanghai International Arts Festival present I, HAMLET, a one-man re-imagining of the Shakespeare play, featuring Chinese opera star Zhang Jun, on Monday, January 9, at 8:30 pm at Asia Society New York, 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street). Performed in Chinese with English subtitles. Preceded by Space-Time Continuum-Pro et Contra by Dai Bo at 7:00 pm.

Zhang Jun, one of China's most popular performers trained in Chnese Kunqu opera , performs a retelling of Hamlet in a one-man contemporary theater piece fresh from its Shanghai premiere and performance at South Bank in London. Rewritten in ancient Chinese prose and sung in the classical techniques of Chinese Kunqu opera, I, Hamlet integrates voice and movement, and juxtaposes Chinese and Western art forms. It will be performed in Chinese with English subtitles.

Adapting the Kunqu Opera style of monologue, Jun plays four roles - Hamlet, Ophelia, the ghost of Hamlet's father and the gravedigger, while also drawing on traditional Chinese opera characters. Going beyond the story itself, this re-interpretation explores the inner world of Hamlet, as he battles with forces of light and darkness, life and death, love and revenge.

I, Hamlet was created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare and Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu (1550 - 1616). Kunqu has a 600-year history and is regarded as the "Mother" of Chinese operas. It was proclaimed by UNESCO in 2001 as a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Zhang Jun was designated a UNESCO Artist for Peace and is one of China's most renowned opera stars.

Watch a trailer for the show below, and find out more about I, Hamlet here!

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Tickets for the performance are free; registration is recommended. Visit AsiaSociety.org/NY for details.

I, Hamlet is preceded by Space-Time Continuum-Pro et Contra, a contemporary chamber concerto composed by the exciting young Chinese composer Dai Bo for thirteen wind and string instruments, with the composer taking center stage on the harpsichord. Renowned conductor Joel Sachs conducts the orchestra. The performance is at 7:00 pm.

I, Hamlet is part of Shanghai / New York: Future Histories, co-presented by Asia Society and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. I, Hamlet was commissioned by the 18th China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF).

Zhang Jun, UNESCO Artist for Peace, is officially ranked as China's national top-class performer. Born in Shanghai on October of 1974, Zhang successively graduated from Shanghai Drama School (1986-1994), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (1997-2000), and got his MFA Degree from Shanghai Theatre Academy (2006-2008). Zhang began learning Kunqu at the age of 12 and became a professional Kunqu actor in 1994.

Regarded as the Prince of Kunqu Opera, Zhang plays the "Hsiao Sheng" (young-man) role type of the 600-year-old Chinese Kunqu Opera, a masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity proclaimed by UNESCO in 2001, and has acted many leading roles in famous Kunqu plays such as The Peony Pavilion, The Palace of Eternal Youth and The Jade Hairpin. Zhang has won China's national top performing award--the "Meihua (Plum Flower) Award" as well as many acting prizes and honorable titles including one of the "Shanghai Ten Outstanding Young Persons" in 2004, the Grand Prize of Performing & Promoting Kunqu by UNESCO in 2005, the "China National Young Cultural Elites" in 2006 and one of China's Best Ten Kunqu Opera Performers in 2007. Zhang has also played the leading role in Tan Dun's opera Marco Polo, which was nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award. Being recognized with his outstanding artistic achievements and endeavor to popularize Kunqu among the youth worldwide, Zhang Jun has been designated by UNESCO in 2011 as one of the UNESCO Artists of Peace.

Dai Bo, composer & pianist, is a doctoral candidate in composition at the China Central Conservatory of Music. Dai Bo was born in China in 1988. At the age of five, he went blind due to an illness. He has gone on to become one of the most talented Chinese young composers. His works Charm of Beijing Opera for accordion solo was selected as an obligatory piece for the 2010 Harbin International Accordion Competition, and was greatly acclaimed in Lithuania the following year. In 2012, Dai Bo was invited to participate in the Warsaw Autumn Festival in Poland, where his Illusion Butterfly was performed for the first time by the ONM Orchestra, conducted by Szymon Bywalec. In the same year, he won a significant prize at the Singapore International Composition Competition. In 2013, he became a fellow composer of The Intimacy of Creativity 2013 Composers Meet Performers in Hong Kong. On April 28th, the violinist Cho-Liang Lin and Dai Bo performed his work Kong Gu You Lan (for violin and piano) at the Hong Kong City Hall Theatre.

His orchestra piece Invisible Mountain won second prize in the national competition held by Ludwig van Beethoven Association in November 2014. In December 2015, his Wojski's Horn Concerto commissioned by ICM, premiered in Warsaw by Sinfonia Varsovia.

All performances take place at Asia Society in New York, 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street). Find out more about upcoming programs, including information about registration and ticket reservations, at AsiaSociety.org/NY. Tickets may also be reserved by calling the Box Office at 212-517-ASIA, in person at Asia Society, or at the door beginning one hour prior to the performance.