88 An Exiled Fairy
Yuan Ge is very pleased with how this scene has turned out so far. The veteran actor who plays the Third Lord and the professional Beijing Opera actor who plays Yiran have both played their roles very well. What pleases him the most is Stephen and Chestnut who play 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 brave the bitter cold of the winter night to shoot this scene. They are 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 isn't at all obvious that the weather conditions are bad, which makes Yuan Ge feel quite touched.
However, what is to come eventually has to come - Yin Fenghua will have to appear after all. In the film, it should have been a scene that everyone looks forward to, but in reality, Yuan Ge feels a pain in his stomach just thinking about Yin Fenghua's terrible acting skills and arrogant attitude.
After that big fight yesterday, he has 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 finally arrived. He was escorted by his assistants into the dressing room and has 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 have worked today, Yuan Ge hesitates. He can't bear to see all these efforts go down the drain, to the extent that this production might end up being aborted.
Just bear with it! Pinching his brow, Yuan Ge repeatedly tells himself in his mind. But what if Yin Fenghua's performance is still as bad as ever? What if he is deliberately giving him a hard time? Should he call NG or accept his subpar performance?
Just as Yuan Ge is struggling with what to do, "Rong Qing" emerges on stage in Du Shiniang's costume and appears on the camera monitor in front of him.
As this production Du Shiniang is a fabricated Beijing Opera play, Rong Qiuchen didn't 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 has stunned the audience. Then, calmly, he sings the set-the-scene poem that he has 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 sings about the life of Du Shiniang. The graceful pride and icy beauty he portrays is like putting the soul back into the fictional character Du Shiniang; his aggrieved heart comes from the tragedy of Shiniang, but is filled with his own emotions. He has woven his own traumatic experiences into the story of Du Shiniang and Li Jia.
Liang Zitang is instantly captured by his alluring face and cannot turn his eyes away - that man is as beautiful as ever, so beautiful that it hurts!
And it isn't just Liang Zitang in the play who has been captivated!
When Yuan Ge looks at Yin Fenghua's performance today, he can hardly believe his eyes: the make-up is so exquisite that it is like nothing he has seen since the start of the production of Qingqing! It is obvious that this make-up doesn't over-emphasise the strict operatic look like in the previous scenes, but the light Beijing opera make-up that Yin Fenghua wears today is 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 looks as beautiful as an exiled fairy descending to earth. Even if Du Shiniang had been reborn, she wouldn't have had such charm!
What is even more surprising is that, apart from the perfection of his make-up and posture, Yin Fenghua's smoky throat, which he has been suffering for days, is also completely cured. Yuan Ge is very sure that he has not gone to Professor Wang to borrow a professional opera actor to dub his singing today. Has 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 doesn't know Beijing Opera particularly well, to the layman's eye, this singing standard is absolutely impeccable; as for professional opinion, he steals a glance at the Operatic Director, Mr. Lee from the NATA, who is 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 are obviously dumbfounded as well. Probably they have never seen Yin Fenghua acting with such dedication, so much so that even when it is clear that it's time to cut to the next scene, Du Jinghai, Amélie Jiang and the others forget to issue any corresponding instructions. Everyone holds 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 is full of excitement, thinking about how exactly he is going to apologise to Yin Fenghua when the shooting of this scene is over.
Not to mention the apology, if Yin Fenghua is able to act like that in the future, he would gladly accept it even if he asks 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.
