Opera Club
The Opera Club will screen the Chinese opera “Tea: a Mirror of Soul” on Tuesday, April 18, at 1:30 p.m. in the Learning Center of Clubhouse 3.
Club President Margaret Gillon will introduce this artistic work by composer Tan Dun, who has focused on the age-old Chinese tea ceremony—that has persisted to the present day—for a symbolic meaning that causes us to wonder.
Act 1 introduces us to Seikyo. a high monk of noble birth who pours himself a cup of tea from an empty teapot while thinking back 20 years earlier, when he approached the emperor during a tea ceremony with the purpose of asking for his daughter Lan’s hand in marriage.
He is in turn asked by the Emperor to recite a tea poem. But at that moment, a visitor from Persia arrives offering 1,000 horses for the Book of Tea, a volume filled with wisdom and secrets.
Unhesitatingly, Lan’s brother, the Prince, produces the book from his sleeve, but Seikyo disputes its authenticity, as he is convinced the real Book of Tea resides with his teacher Luyu, a tea sage. Both Seikyu and the Prince challenge each other with a vow to sacrifice his own life if proven wrong.
In Act 2, Seikyu and Princess Lan travel to find the Book of Tea and fall deeply in love.
In Act 3, they arrive during the tea ceremony at the home of Luyu, the tea sage, to learn of his death, but his daughter Lu agrees to give the Book of Tea to Seikyo and Princess Lan on the condition that they spread its wisdom throughout the world.
Just then Lan’s brother, the Prince, rushes in and snatches the book. A duel ensues which Princess Lan tries to stop but gets mortally wounded. Dying, Lan drinks a cup of emptiness. The Prince makes good on his vow, by kneeling and offering his sword to Seikyo, who in turn slices his own hair to become a monk.
The scene ends with the high monk of noble birth drinking a cup of emptiness.
The production is in English with English subtitles. Attendees are invited to wear masks indoors, if desired. No dues or fees are collected.
For more information, contact Opera Club President Margaret Gillon at MargaretGi@yahoo.com or call her at 562370-3844.
