Pingtan artist Lu Jinhua will present an innovative performance on Qixi — the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar that is also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls on August 28 this year.
With a history of over 400 years, pingtan is an ages-old traditional art form of singing and storytelling. Themed on love, the performance will feature well-known romantic stories from home and abroad.
In addition to the classic stories of two legendary women from ancient China — Hua Mulan and Du Shiniang — Lu will also perform a pingtan version of the famous poem "Taking Leave of Cambridge Again" by Xu Zhimo, who was regarded as one of the best-known romantic poets of the 20th century, and read from James Cameron's Oscar-winning movie "Titanic."
Lu will present an original crossover gig of "The Wandering Songstress" with piano accompaniment.
In her eyes, innovative and diverse performing art forms will make pingtan more accessible to young people of today. She has combined pingtan with many modern forms of art such as jazz and a cappella music.
The performance is part of the city's Youth Artist Training Program which aims to cultivate young talented artists of traditional theater.
Date: August 28, 7:15pm
Tickets: 60-380 yuan
Tel: 6386-8686
Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater
Address: 300 People's Ave
