History
The theatre was built in 1688, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor in the Qing Dynasty. It was built on the site of a Buddhist temple. It has a rich history that includes performances by the grandmaster of Peking Opera, Mei Lanfang.
After the Cultural Revolution, the theatre fell into disrepair. However, in 1995 a local businessman sponsored a full restoration. The theatre now continues to perform Beijing Opera. It is considered a living relic and one of Beijing's finest monuments.
As of August 2005, the theatre is temporarily closed for building work.
As of October 2010，the theatre was all set to reopen, with the premiere of Mei Lanfang Classics, providing a view of Peking Opera in its heyday.The play includes six classics from the 160 repertoires of Mei Lanfang, including Battle with Invaders,Drunken Princess,Goddess of Luo River,Taking Command of Troops,Sylph Scattering Flowers,Farewell to Princess Yu.
On June 10, 2012, the theater played host to American comedian Louis CK, who taped an episode of his show "Louie" there for an invitation-only audience.
Read more about this topic: Zhengyici Peking Opera Theatre
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“We don’t know when our name came into being or how some distant ancestor acquired it. We don’t understand our name at all, we don’t know its history and yet we bear it with exalted fidelity, we merge with it, we like it, we are ridiculously proud of it as if we had thought it up ourselves in a moment of brilliant inspiration.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“... that there is no other way,
That the history of creation proceeds according to
Stringent laws, and that things
Do get done in this way, but never the things
We set out to accomplish and wanted so desperately
To see come into being.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are rather of the nature of universals, whereas those of history are singulars.”
—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)