By Huang Shan
China.org.cn staff reporter

A musical epic based on the legend of the Goddess Xiwangmu (the Queen Mother of the West) is to be staged in Beijing in February 2009. The song and dance drama Mysterious Qinghai tells how the Queen Mother leads ancient gods and goddesses to restore their relationship with humankind before returning to the Pure Land.

The story of the Queen Mother of the West is told in the ancient masterpiece of Chinese mythology, Shanhaijing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas). Xiwangmu is the goddess of Qinghai Lake – China's largest salt-water lake – in the northwest province of Qinghai. Myths and legends about the Queen Mother of the West are popular traditions among both Tibetans and Hans who live around the Kunlun Mountain range.

Well known Chinese composer Zhao Jiping, heads the Mysterious Qinghai production team. He praises the young crew's creativity and hard-work at the press conference introducing the musical. [China.org.cn]

The drama is being produced by the Qinghai provincial culture bureau. Famous composer Zhao Jiping heads the production team. Before beginning rehearsals, the performers, most of whom are in their twenties and thirties, spent time in the counties of Yushu, Huangnan and Haibei collecting folk music and dances and immersing themselves in the local culture. The result is a spectacular production that combines primitive art forms with modern musical technique.

Hu Xuehua, the director of the musical Mysterious Qinghai is confident that the innovative production will be popular with the public.

The performance portrays a goddess full of love and the spirit of sacrifice, and eulogizes the harmonious coexistence of gods and humans. Although based on legend, the drama expresses contemporary ideas about the relationship between humans and the natural world. It raises the question of how contradictory elements – the sky and the earth, day and night, water and fire, body and soul, joy and sadness – live together in the world and how conflict can give rise to harmony.

The six-act drama, with a budget of 12 million yuan, will open on February 20 and 21 at the Poly Theater, Beijing. After touring the country in the following months, it will return to Qinghai where it will showcase local culture.