2026 Yue Opera Highlights Showcase – Program Synopses
The Tale of Two Virtuous Souls – A Wife's Praise
Fang Wei as Han Shizhong
Xiaoling Zhan as Liang Hongyu
During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Jin army invaded from the north. General Han Shizhong led just 800 soldiers to intercept 100,000 Jin troops commanded by Wanyan Wuzhu, using the Yangtze River's natural defenses near Zhenjiang. Han's wife, Liang Hongyu, personally beat the war drums to rally the troops, leading the Song army to a decisive victory. However, blinded by pride, Han ignored his wife's and his generals' advice to pursue the retreating enemy, allowing the Jin forces to escape. Rather than accepting responsibility, Han blamed others for the setback. Liang Hongyu courageously confronted him, pointing out his mistakes and submitting a memorial to the imperial court detailing both his achievements and shortcomings. Han eventually recognized his errors and vowed to reclaim his homeland from the invaders.
**In the scene “A Wife's Praise”** set during the Southern Song Dynasty's resistance against the Jin invasion, General Han Shizhong devises a strategy to ambush and capture the enemy. Late at night, his wife, Liang Hongyu, mends his battle robe and prepares wine to wish him success in the coming battle. As the couple reminisces about the many hardships they have faced together over the years, Liang Hongyu praises her husband's courage and heroism while playfully expressing pride in having recognized a true hero when she chose him as her husband. The scene beautifully captures their deep devotion to each other and their shared love for their country.
The Jade Hairpin — Three Acts of Tender Care
Wei Wang as Li Xiuying
Fei Wang as Wang Yulin
The story tells of Li Tingfu, a Ming Dynasty Minister of Personnel, who arranges for his beloved daughter, Xiuying, to marry Yulin, the son of Hanlin Academician Wang. Gu Wenyou, Xiuying’s cousin, becomes resentful after his marriage proposal is rejected and plots to frame Xiuying. In collusion with the matchmaker, Madam Sun, he steals Xiuying’s jade hairpin and forges a love letter, secretly placing it in the bridal chamber. Upon discovering the letter, Yulin mistakenly believes that Xiuying has been unfaithful. After their wedding, he treats her with coldness and humiliation. One month after the wedding, Xiuying returns to her parental home for a customary visit. Suspecting that she has arranged a secret meeting with Wenyou, Yulin forces her to return to his home immediately in her original sedan chair. That night, fearing that her husband might catch a chill, Xiuying gently covers him with a garment while he sleeps. Instead of appreciating her kindness, Yulin humiliates her once again. Deeply distressed, Xiuying falls ill. Later, Li Tingfu visits the Wang household to demand an explanation. After questioning the matchmaker, the truth is finally revealed. Overwhelmed with remorse, Yulin deeply regrets his treatment of Xiuying. Determined to redeem himself, he travels to the capital to take the imperial examinations. After earning the highest honor of Zhuangyuan (top laureate in the imperial examinations), he returns with an elaborate phoenix crown and embroidered bridal robes to apologize to Xiuying. Eventually, the couple reconcile and restore their marriage.
The excerpt "Three Acts of Tender Care" portrays Xiuying’s patience, kindness, and consideration for her husband. Despite enduring his cold treatment and repeated humiliation, she remains compassionate and covers him with a garment to protect him from the cold late at night. Her actions reveal her gentle and forgiving nature, as well as her quiet endurance in the face of injustice.
Lü Bu and Diaochan — The Banquet
Fang Wei as Lv Bu
Zhuoli Wang as Diao Chan
Wen Wei, Hongxiu Yin as Maid
Amid the decline of the Han dynasty, Minister Wang Yun devised the Chain Scheme, arranging a “Little Banquet” for Lü Bu. During the banquet, Wang Yun briefly withdrew, instructing Diao Chan to appear and present the wine. She danced as she poured, her words light and laughter warm, her bearing graceful and captivating. Lü Bu, entranced by her charm, found his feelings beyond restraint and, without realizing it, stepped into the snare of the scheme.
The Romance of the Western Chamber – Verse Exchange
Jianhua Wang as Zhang Gong
Xiaoling Zhan as Cui Yingying
Ying Qin as Hong Niang
The Yue Opera Romance of the Western Chamber is adapted from the Yuan Dynasty play of the same name by Wang Shifu. Set during the Zhenyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, the story follows a young scholar, Zhang Gong (Zhang Sheng), who encounters Cui Yingying, the daughter of the late Prime Minister Cui, at Pujiu Temple. The two fall in love at first sight. When Sun Feihu, a military commander, surrounds the temple with his troops and demands Yingying's hand in marriage, Madam Cui publicly promises to marry her daughter to whoever can drive away the attackers. Zhang Sheng sends an urgent letter to his friend, General Du Que, who arrives with reinforcements and lifts the siege. However, Madam Cui breaks her promise, considering Zhang Sheng too poor to marry her daughter. Heartbroken, Zhang Sheng falls ill from lovesickness. With the help of her clever maid, Hongniang, Yingying secretly visits Zhang Sheng in the western chamber one night to comfort him. When Madam Cui discovers their secret meeting, she interrogates Hongniang, who reveals the truth. Left with little choice, Madam Cui agrees to their marriage. However, insisting that her daughter cannot marry a scholar without an official title, she forces Zhang Sheng to travel to the capital to take the imperial examinations. The young lovers part with heavy hearts, filled with sorrow and longing.
In the scene “Verse Exchange,” Zhang Sheng learns that Cui Yingying visits the garden every evening to burn incense. Hoping to catch a glimpse of her, he waits atop an artificial rock formation just outside the garden wall. As the moon rises high in the sky, Yingying arrives as expected. While she and her maid, Hongniang, chat about their encounter with Zhang Sheng earlier that day, he recites a poem from beyond the wall to test Yingying's feelings. Impressed by his poetic talent, Yingying responds with a verse of her own from within the garden. After finishing her incense offering, she reluctantly takes her leave. Zhang Sheng, deeply moved by Yingying's beauty and literary talent, finds himself falling even more deeply in love with her.
Princess Baihua — Bestows the Sword
Fang Wei as Hai Jun
Wei Wang as Princess Baihua
Princess Baihua is adapted from The Tale of a Hundred Flowers, a legendary drama from the Ming Dynasty. The story is set during the Yuan Dynasty. The Prince of Anxi secretly plots rebellion against the throne. The imperial court sends the strategist Jiang Liuyun, under the alias Hai Jun, to infiltrate his court. Jiang's sister, Jiang Huayou, serves as a maid to the Prince's daughter, Princess Baihua. The Prince trusts Hai Jun and gives him high office. When the revolt begins, Hai Jun undermines it from within. The rebellion is crushed, and Princess Baihua takes her own life with her sword.
In this scene, Hai Jun's rise makes the palace attendant Bala jealous. Bala gets Hai Jun drunk and has him secretly carried into the Baihua Pavilion. The pavilion is where the Princess trains in martial arts, and any intruder there is put to death. The Princess finds Hai Jun, questions him, and sees through Bala's plot. Struck by his bearing, she spares his life, secretly pledges herself to him, and gives him one of her pair of swords as a token of love.
The Romance of the Western Chamber – The Heart of the Lute
Jianhua Wang as Zhang Gong
Xiaoling Zhan as Cui Yingying
Ying Qin as Hong Niang
As night falls, Yingying returns to the garden to burn incense, quietly lamenting her sorrows beneath the moonlight. From beyond the garden wall, Zhang Sheng plays a melody on his zither, expressing both his love for Yingying and his sorrow over Madam Cui's broken promise of marriage. Moved by the music, Yingying begins to dance. Her heart overflows with emotion, for she has already fallen deeply in love with Zhang Sheng, yet she dares not openly reveal her feelings. Noticing how deeply Yingying has been touched, Hongniang deliberately goes to tell Zhang Sheng. He then asks Hongniang to deliver a letter to Yingying, inviting her to a secret meeting through a poem. Hongniang agrees to help.