Just this week! The ballet "Camellia Woman" from the "Upper Ballet" will go to Macau to perform twice in a row. Macau | Shanghai Ballet | Camellia Woman
In order to promote cultural exchange between Macau and the mainland, the Shanghai Ballet, invited by the Cultural Bureau of the Macau Special Administrative Region Government, will bring a ballet version of "Camellia Woman" to the Macau Cultural Center's Comprehensive Theatre on June 9th and 10th. This will be the first overseas performance of the Shanghai Ballet since its US tour in January 2020. The elegant and exquisite Shanghai style of the Shanghai Ballet has attracted many Macau audiences. Shortly after the opening of tickets, more than 2000 tickets for the two performances were sold out.
In 2019, Derek Dean, the invited artistic director of the Shanghai Ballet and the British ballet master, tailored the ballet "The Camellia Woman" for the Shanghai Ballet based on the novel "The Camellia Woman" written by French author Alexandre Dumas Minor. The drama starts with the moment when the female protagonist Margaret's life is on the brink of death, using a reverse narrative technique, which leads to a love story between her and Armand that breaks through the secular world, is sincere and passionate, yet also full of twists and turns. Carol Davis, who composed the music for the British BBC 95 version of "Pride and Prejudice," was responsible for the composition of the previous version of "The Camellia Woman." His music is rich in the texture of film music, reproducing the gorgeous and elegant characteristics of the era, while also possessing a romantic temperament and dramatic tension. Adam Ni, on the other hand, showcased the style of 19th century French upper class society and rural areas in dance dramas through hundreds of hard scenery props in up to 60 categories.
In November 2019, the Shangba version of "Camellia Woman" made its debut in Shanghai as a performance at the 21st Shanghai International Art Festival, receiving praise from audiences, professionals, and the media. Over the past three years, it has been performed in 40 shows across the country. In March 2021, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni visited Shanghai and after watching the performance of "The Camellia Woman," he highly praised and praised the performance of Shangba, saying, "The performance is so wonderful! The performance is very 'clean', and the actors are very 'beautiful'!"
In this performance in Macau, Wu Husheng, the deputy director and chief actress of the Shanghai Ballet, and Qi Bingxue, the main actress, will respectively play the male and female lead roles of Armand and Margaret. Their partner is not only impeccable in technology, but also vividly portrays the characters, walking out of the novel for the passionate Armand and the charming Margaret, and "living" on stage. Other main actors who performed on stage include Fan Xiaofeng, the lead actor of Shangba, Zhang Wenjun, Wu Bin, Tu Hanbin, Zhao Meici, and others.
Posters inside the Macau Cultural Center venue
The head of the Shanghai Ballet, Xin Lili, said, "I am delighted to receive an invitation from the Cultural Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government to bring this ballet adaptation of the world famous work," The Lady of Camellia, "to Macau. This is a full reflection of the professionalism, internationalization, and marketization of the Shanghai Ballet. The entire cast will work together to provide artistic and infectious performances for the Macau audience, showcasing the unique charm of Shanghai style ballet."
