''Fangcaoxin'' (芳草心 "Fangfang, heart of grass") is a 1983

Chinese-language western-style opera Chinese contemporary classical opera (Chinese: 当今古典歌剧; ''dāngjīn gŭdiăn gējù''; "contemporary classical opera") is a musical art form drawing on western opera traditions - distinct from modern developments of traditional Chinese ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

, and 1986 film. It was filmed as ''Fangcaoxin'' in 1986, and appears listed in some sources by an English title "The Passion and the Love." The geju was based on the play ''Zhenqing jiayi'' (《真情假意》) by

Ping Danhe Ping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Ping, a domesticated Chinese duck in the illustrated book '' The Story about Ping'', first published in 1933 * Ping, a minor character in ''Seinfeld'', an NBC sitcom * Ping, a c ...

which was in the repertoire of the

Frontline Song and Dance Troupe The Frontline Song and Dance Troupe (前线歌舞团; pinyin: Qiánxiàn Gēwǔtuán) founded 1946 in Nanjing, officially named in 1955, is a dance song and theatre troupe of the East China command of the People's Liberation Army. The troupe was the ...

(前线歌舞团). The original play was collectively edited, with a new libretto by

Xiang Tong Xiang or Hsiang may refer to: *Xiang (place), the site of Hong Xiuquan's destruction of a Chinese idol early in the Taiping Rebellion *Xiang (surname), three unrelated surnames: Chinese: 項 and Chinese: 向 (both ''Xiàng'') and Chinese: 相 (''X ...

(向彤) and

He Zhaohua He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

(何兆华) and then set to music by

Wang Zujie Wang may refer to: Names * Wang (surname) (王), a common Chinese surname * Wāng (汪), a less common Chinese surname * Titles in Chinese nobility * A title in Korean nobility * A title in Mongolian nobility Places * Wang River in Thailand ...

(王祖皆 b.1949) and Zhang Zhuoya (张卓娅). It had its first performance in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

in 1983 by the Frontline Song and Dance Troupe. The most famous excerpt is the aria ''xiao cao'' (《小草》 "little grass").

Plot

The plot concerns twin sisters Yunyun (媛媛) and Fangfang (芳芳) and their love for the engineer Yu Gang (于刚). Yu Gang is blinded in an accident and his girlfriend Yunyun deserts him, her twin sister Fangfang takes over the job of caring for Yu Gang letting him believe she is his sister. When Yu Gang's eyesight recovers Fangfang withdraws, and Yunyun returns to reclaim him, but her conscience drives her to admit the truth at their wedding. The

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

is still on the

repertoire A repertoire () is a list or set of dramas, operas, musical compositions or roles which a company or person is prepared to perform. Musicians often have a musical repertoire. The first known use of the word ''repertoire'' was in 1847. It is a ...

of the

Shanghai Opera House Shanghai Opera House (; Shanghainese: ''Zånhae Kujihyoe'') is the official government-funded western-style opera company of Shanghai, China, and the resident opera company at the new Shanghai Grand Theatre (上海大剧院 ''Shanghai Da Juyua ...

References

Chinese western-style operas Operas 1983 operas Operas based on plays {{opera-stub