From the handpicked young cast to the more than 200 exquisitely hand-made costumes, Kenneth Pai's love and passion for Kun opera is embodied throughout his "Young Lovers' Edition" of The Peony Pavilion.
Employing his reputation and all the resources he could muster, Pai gathered the brightest talents from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China for his modern rendition of this classic Chinese opera.?Pai's production represents a unique collaboration among the best performers in China.?Only his reputation as a renowned writer and his passion for Kun opera could achieve such a cooperation among members of the normally exclusive Kunqu community.
Regardless of whether he was writing creative works in Taiwan or teaching Chinese literature as a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Pai's love affair with Kun opera has never wavered.?He was involved in two prior productions of The Peony Pavilion in 1983 and 1992, but these were abridged versions of the original opera.?For this version, he took on the task of creating an adaptation that is well suited to modern tastes and yet remains faithful to the original opera, including all the traditional performance practices of Kun opera.
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