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The first
ever full-length ballet accompanied by
a Chinese orchestra
Legend
of the
Great Archer
The man who shot down the suns and
the lady who flew to the moon
Romance retold from
a modern perspective
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Mythologies
relating to the sun and the moon abound. In China, the story of the archer Hou
Yi stands out for its humanistic angle ¡V it traces the rise of a young hero
who saves the scorched earth by shooting down suns, to his downfall when he
turns from hero to tyrant. The Legend of the Great Archer has all the
making of romantic ballet theatre, with original music by Kuan Nai-chung, former
Music Director of the HKCO, who will be conducting the Orchestra in a live
accompaniment of the ballet production.
For the Hong
Kong Ballet, this will be a production in celebration of their Silver Jubilee.
Following the highly successful The Last Emperor, The White Snake
and Mu Lan, Artistic Director Stephen Jefferies will once again bring to
the dance stage the magic of East-and-West, choreographing for a ballet against
a dramatic Chinese setting.
If any
predecessor is to be cited for this genre, The Red Detachment of Women or
The White-haired Girl may qualify, but the accompaniment was by an orchestra
with a mixture of western and Chinese instruments. This will be a
ground-breaking attempt to have a full-sized Chinese orchestra providing live
accompaniment for a ballet. As two performing companies with totally different
cultural backgrounds and genres, the Hong Kong Ballet and the HKCO are joining
hands for the first time ever for the world premiere of Legend of the Great
Archer.
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