Forest on Fire / Princess Hundred Flowers [Import]

Peking Opera, Peking Opera Company | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 1, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Buda Musique
• ASIN: B000001N9B
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,690 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Scene 1-Lors du Mariage, Dénoncer L'Usurpateur/Denouncing the ...

2. Scene 4-Arrêter le Char Royal en Route/Stopping the Royal Charriot ...

3. Scene 1-Offrir un Sabre en Gage D'Alliance/Giving a Sabre as an ...

4. Scene 2-Donner Ses Orders aux Généraux/Giving Orders to the Generals

5. Scene 3-Tomber Dans le Piége/Falling in the Trap

6. Scene 4-Disparition d'Une Fleur/The Disparition of a Flower

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Better recording please, November 29, 2005

By 

R. Chiang "mrarchiegoodwin" (San Francisco, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forest on Fire / Princess Hundred Flowers (Audio CD)

In European opera it is difficult to imagine the full scope of a piece from the music alone. In Chinese opera this is even more so because the performers must combine physical feats along with the singing. Acrobatics, martial arts, weaponry, dance, acting, singing and even slight of hand are integrated into the story. And in most Chinese art creative interpretation is usually discouraged and robotic mimicry is prized. Actors in the opera must not only be able to sing and do all else but they must also perform exactly the same way as their predecessors. So hearing the music alone allows only a fraction of the experience that opera fans enjoy in the theater. But it is worthwhile.

I recall hearing a few treasured lp albums of The Forest on Fire and Princess Hundred Flowers--such richness in the gonging, sonorous falsettos, and contrepuntal baritones. These qualities have gone missing in this CD. Compared to the old lps the instruments sound tinny (reinforcing negative prejudices against Chinese music) and the voices out of breath (inexplicable). It is hard to tell from listening to the CD if the fault lay with the recording process or with the performance. For the sake of the art I hope it is the former. Until a better quality recording comes along this one is better than none.

4.0 out of 5 stars Peking Opera CD is wonderful, March 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Forest on Fire / Princess Hundred Flowers (Audio CD)

This is a wonderful, yet simple Chinese opera. My only complaint is that there are not enough dan arias, which are my favorite. I would definitely recommend this CD.