40 years after the performance of the contemporary legend "City of Desire", Wu Xingguo, Wei Haimin and their disciples will debut at the Taichung Opera House in December

Zhu Baicheng and Huang Ruolin took over the legacy version of Legend Theater's "City of Desire", with the two generations of actors alternately interpreting the protagonists in the first and second halves. (Provided by the National Opera House, photography by Guo Zhengzhang)

[Reporter Huang Xuierls/Taichung Report] The Contemporary Legend Theater is re-performing its founding masterpiece "City of Desire" for its 40th anniversary. It is adapted from Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth". The "Classic Version" stars the original cast of Peking Opera masters Wu Xingguo and Wei Haimin, and for the first time, the "Inherited Version" with disciples Zhu Baicheng and Huang Ruolin co-starring on the stage will be performed at the National Opera House in Taichung from December 12 to 13.

"City of Desire" was launched by the founding group of Contemporary Legend Theater in 1986. After 40 years, disciples Zhu Baicheng and Huang Ruolin and their teachers Wu Xingguo and Wei Haimin shared the stage to perform the inherited version, recreating the Ji Kingdom of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. General Ao Shu was subject to the prophecy of the mountain ghost and his wife instigated the conspiracy to usurp the throne, which eventually led to its destruction.

Li Huimei, artistic director of the Taichung National Opera House, said that Wu Xingguo and Wei Haimin have worked together for "40 years at a glance." The contemporary legendary theater has a profound foundation in Peking opera and extremely high-energy stage performance. This year's "Meet the Giants" series features masterpieces from 40 years ago, which is expected to lead the audience to re-experience the vitality of classic contemporary works.

At the age of 73, Wu Xingguo will return to the stage to play the leading role of "Ao Shuzheng", sharing the stage with "Mrs. Ao" played by Wei Haimin. His direct disciples Zhu Baicheng and Huang Ruolin will take over the role. The two generations of actors alternately interpret the protagonist in the first and second halves, showing the inheritance style of master and apprentice on the same stage.

Wu Xingguo said that this may be his last appearance in "City of Desire". Seeing the new generation of actors from "Xing Legend Youth Theater" taking over, he is convinced that this show will have another 40 years.

The Opera House emphasized that in 1986, Peking Opera was facing a loss of audiences. In order to attract more audiences to the theater, the contemporary legendary theater company's founding work "City of Desire" was shocked when it was released. It boldly blended Eastern Peking Opera aesthetics and Western Shakespearean tragedy. After 40 years, the theater has developed into a cultural brand in Taiwan and has appeared on the international stage of "the world's three major art festivals". "City of Desire" is expected to be held on December 12 (Saturday) and 13 (Sunday) at 2:30 pm at the Taichung National Opera House. To purchase tickets, please contact the Opentix Liangyuan Cultural Life Network.