Pictured above: (R) Linda Lee, and (L) Laura Ma, in an show they did together in 2001.
EMPEROR GUONG SHUI WARMS JUN FEI WITH LOVE
Lead Actress: Laura Ma
Lead Actress: Linda Lee
Show Synopsis
This
opera excerpt depicts a love story between
Emperor Guong Shui, and the Royal Concubine, Jun Fei,
and is loosely based on the history during the Ching
Dynasty.
During
the time of Ching Dynasty, the ruling Empress
Dowanger passed down her throne to her son Guong Sui.
Although she relinquished her title as the ruling
Empress, she still held power in her court.
Emperor
Guong Shui loved only one person exclusively,
and she was the Royal Concubine Jun Fei.
Jun Fei was
beautiful, talented in every respect, and intelligent
in her political views, and supported the Emperor with
his views on modernizing China, which the Empress
Dowanger opposed.
Empress
Dowanger hated Jun Fei for being the Emperor's
favored concubine, and also for being his political supporter and
advisor, and she was determined to take
revenge by accusing her of impropriety.
Jun
Fei was beaten mercilessly, and sentenced to
isolation in a prison cell that was made for lower
class workers such as maids.
In
this scene, Emperor Guong Shui visits Jun Fei in
her prison cell.
He expressed his disbelieve of what
the Empress did, shared his empathy, and warms Jun
Fei with his words of love. Before he parted, he
leaves his royal robe for Jun Fei as a symbol of his
love for her.
About the Performers
Pictured above: (R) Linda Lee, and (L) Laura
Ma, in an show they did together in 2001.
LAURA MA
Role: Jun Fei
Laura
was first exposed to Cantonese Opera when she was very young, by her grandmother
in HK, where she was an opera fan of Yam Kim Fight and Bak Shu Shing.
She
joined Oakland Red Bean Cantonese Opera in 1997. Besides learning from Sifu Jing
Liang, she also studied under Master Wong Chi Ming and Master Lum Siu Fun.
Laura
has performed leading roles in three shows. Her first and second performances
were in 1997 & 1999 for the Red Bean Opera House Annual Celebration. Her
latest and best performance was in 2001 for the Tri-Valley Classical Cantonese
Opera Show – a charity show for the Bay Area seniors, where she played a
spoiled princess in the skit “Taming
of the Royal Princess”.
Besides
great performance and singing skills, Laura also has superb organization skills.
She was a major organizer for several very successful performances.
For more information, visit Laura's Homepage.
LINDA LEE
Role: Emperor Guong Shui
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