Chapter 88 - An Exiled Fairy
Yuan Ge was very pleased with how this scene had turned out so far. The veteran actor who played the Third Lord and the professional Beijing Opera actor who played Yiran had both played their roles very well. What pleased him the most was Stephen and Chestnut who played the couple Liang Zitang and Miss Rong in this scene. Although they did not have many lines, they both managed to act out the inner feelings of their characters through their facial expressions. Even Waylon, who was not very successful in his previous attempts as Qiuchen's second elder brother Luohua, played his role a lot better today.
The entire cast and crew braved the bitter cold of the winter night to shoot this scene. They were very dedicated to their work and managed to successfully create the lively atmosphere of the opera party of the House of Rong. Viewed from the camera lens, it wasn't at all obvious that the weather conditions were bad, which made Yuan Ge feel quite touched.
However, what was to come eventually had to come - Yin Fenghua would have to appear after all. In the film, it should have been a scene that everyone looked forward to, but in reality, Yuan Ge felt a pain in his stomach just thinking about Yin Fenghua's terrible acting skills and arrogant attitude.
After that big fight yesterday, he had no idea how Fat Chow and Du Jinghai managed to persuade the guy to come back. They must have apologised against their will and made a reluctant compromise.. It was already dusk when Yin Fenghua arrived. He was escorted by his assistants into the dressing room and had not came out since. Probably because he simply didn't want to communicate, trying to show his displeasure to him, the director.
Thinking about how determined he was yesterday to replace this male lead, but seeing how hard the cast and crew had worked today, Yuan Ge hesitated. He couldn't bear to see all these efforts go down the drain, to the extent that this production would end up being aborted.
Just bear with it! Pinching his brow, Yuan Ge repeatedly told himself in his mind. But what if Yin Fenghua's performance was still as bad as ever? What if he was deliberately giving him a hard time? Should he call NG or accept his subpar performance?
Just as Yuan Ge was struggling with what to do, "Rong Qing" emerged on stage in Du Shiniang's costume and appeared on the camera monitor in front of him.
As this production Du Shiniang was a fabricated Beijing Opera play, Rong Qiuchen did not stick to the usual formula of opera styling. He only used liquid powder[1] to lightly outline his face, applied some red rouge around his cheeks and his eyes, and a touch of peachy rouge on his thin, slightly upturned lips, adding a subtler and more feminine touch than his previous look. This appearance alone had stunned the audience. Then, calmly, he sang the set-the-scene poem that he had made up.
"A thousand strands of sorrow are in disarray.
My guests are invited to enjoy my smile every day.
And I am made fun of and belittled.
Even if there are tears, I dare not to shed..."
Then, in a high and tender voice, he sang about the life of Du Shiniang. The graceful pride and icy beauty he displayed was like putting the soul back into the fictional character Du Shiniang; his aggrieved heart came from the tragedy of Shiniang, but was filled with his own emotions. He had woven his own traumatic experiences into the story of Du Shiniang and Li Jia.
Liang Zitang was instantly captured by his alluring face and couldn't turn his eyes away - that man was as beautiful as ever, so beautiful that it hurt!
And it wasn't just Liang Zitang in the play who had been captivated!
When Yuan Ge looked at Yin Fenghua's performance today, he could hardly believe his eyes: the make-up was so exquisite that it was like nothing he had seen since the start of the production of Qingqing! It was obvious that this make-up didn't over-emphasise the strict operatic look like in the previous scenes, but the light Beijing opera make-up that Yin Fenghua wore today was unique. The lowered eyelashes cast two shadows across his face, as if deliberately concealing the deep sorrow locked in his eyes. The slanting corners of his eyes and the pale rouge completely blur the boundaries of gender. In the hazy night, under the faint shadows of the stage lights, he looked as beautiful as an exiled fairy descending to earth. Even if Du Shiniang had been reborn, she wouldn't have had such charm!
What was even more surprising was that, apart from the perfection of his make-up and posture, Yin Fenghua's smoky throat, which he had been suffering for days, was also completely cured. Yuan Ge was very sure that he had not gone to Professor Wang to borrow a professional opera actor to dub his singing today. Had Yin Fenghua finally been enlightened? Not only did he sing the lyrics without missing a single word, but his opera singing skills - although Yuan Ge didn't know Beijing Opera particularly well, to the layman's eye, this singing standard was absolutely impeccable; as for professional opinion, he stole a glance at the Operatic Director, Mr. Lee from the NATA, who was actually staring at the stage with wide eyes, muttering under his breath, his eyes tearing up, his astonished expression even more exaggerated than his own!
As for the other members of the cast and crew, they were obviously dumbfounded as well. Probably they had never seen Yin Fenghua acting with such dedication, so much so that even when it was clear that it was time to cut to the next scene, Du Jinghai, Amélie Jiang and the others didn't issue any corresponding instructions. Everyone held their breath to be in harmony with the performance of the man on stage, not wanting to disturb this rare brilliance.
Yuan Ge's heart was full of excitement, thinking about how exactly he was going to apologise to Yin Fenghua when the shooting of this scene was over.
Not to mention the apology, had Yin Fenghua been able to act like that in the future, he would gladly accept it even if he asked himself to burn incense and bow down to him every day!
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[1] Liquid powder is a cosmetic made from powder and glycerine.