In 1930, China Institute of America invited Mei Lanfang to make his triumphant debut on Broadway. Nearly a century later, we proudly present a one-night-only opportunity to once again be immersed in the artistry of an internationally acclaimed Peking opera star.

China Institute is honored to host Hu Wenge, a master of the Mei School of Peking opera, for a special New York performance. As the only male protégé of the late Mei Baojiu, son of Mei Lanfang, Hu Wenge is among the very few inheritors in the line of the male dan tradition, the art of male performers portraying female roles. This landmark event is part of China Institute’s Centennial celebration and is presented in conjunction with the current exhibition “The Dancing Goddess: Mei Lanfang in America” at China Institute Gallery.

Hu will perform in full the iconic drama The Drunken Beauty, a centerpiece of the opera canon. Through the sophisticated union of movement and music, he brings to life the distilled essence of the legendary Yang Guifei’s complex emotions as the emperor’s ill-fated favorite. Following the performance, two distinguished scholars will offer historic insights into the work, joining Maestro Hu in sharing in-depth reflections on the unique sonic and physical aspects of Sinitic opera.

This 10th edition of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering is part of our annual series celebrating artistic exchange, inspired by the calligrapher Wang Xizhi’s (307–365) historic literati gathering on Mount Kuaiji.

Schedule

5:30 – 5:50 PM | The Drunken Beauty; full performance by Hu Wenge
5:50 – 6:20 PM | “Peking Opera and Literature: Bedfellow or Strangers, or, Something in Between?” presented by Dr. David L. Rolston
6:20 – 6:50 PM | “Answering Mei Lanfang’s Sonic Invitation” presented by Dr. Anna Yu Wang
6:50 – 7:10 PM | Hu Wenge’s Keynote Talk (in Chinese with English translation)
7:10 – 7:30 PM | Moderated Q&A

Master Peking Opera Performer:

Hu Wenge is a leading actor at the Jingju Theater Company of Beijing, a principal performer of the Mei Lanfang Peking Opera Troupe, a China National First-class Actor, and the third-generation disciple of the Mei School.

Hu studied with many distinguished Peking opera masters, including Mei Baojiu, Jiang Fengshan, Wang Zhiyi, and Li Yufu. In 2001, Hu became a disciple of Mei Baojiu, the youngest son of Mei Lanfang. His repertoire includes renowned Mei School operas, such as Mu Guiying Takes Command, The Phoenix Returns, Wedding in the Dream, The Cosmos Sword, and The King Parting with His Favorite (also popularly known as Farewell My Concubine). He has performed the Mei School classic The Drunken Beauty on many occasions at Chinese state banquets. During the world tour commemorating the 120th anniversary of Mei Lanfang’s birth, Hu was a lead actor and took part in more than thirty major performances in China and abroad, including appearances at the Musikverein Vienna, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

Scholars Speakers:

David L. Rolston taught at the University of Michigan (1988-2024) but is still a visiting professor at the National Academy of Chinese Theater Arts in Beijing. He has published three books in English: How to Read the Chinese Novel (1990), Traditional Chinese Fiction Commentary (1997), and Inscribing Jingju/Peking Opera: Textualization and Performance, Authorship and Censorship of the “National Drama” of China from the Late Qing to the Present (2021), and many articles in Chinese. His English language articles include one on selling Peking opera to foreigners and one on the English translation and subtitling of a Peking opera play.

Anna Yu Wang is Assistant Professor of Musicology at Princeton University where she has also been named the Class of 1931 Bicentennial Preceptor in the Center for Human Values. Yu Wang researches the aesthetics and politics of listening in our globally connected yet ideologically divided present. She is interested in understanding what it means, and what it takes, to listen across lines of difference. Her forthcoming book with Oxford University Press, titled Musicality and the Myriad Things, combines music analysis and ethnography to frame the sounds of Huangmei opera and Taiwanese opera as invitations into local modes of worldmaking.

The Lead Sponsor of the exhibition, related programming, and the catalogue is the Center for Language Education and Cooperation. Additional support has been provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Family of C. T. and Edith Kwok Feng, the Abel & Sophia Sheng Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, and other individuals and institutional funders.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. “The Dancing Goddess” is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.