Ballet 'The Butterfly Lovers' staged in Hong Kong

Adapted by Hong Kong Ballet, "The Butterfly Lovers," a large-scale ballet, premiered at the Grand Theater of Hong Kong Cultural Center on the evening of Oct 18 to a full house.

At the end of the performance, the audience greeted the creative team with long applause and cheers.

Known as "the Chinese Romeo and Juliet," "The Butterfly Lovers" is brought to the stage for the first time in the form of ballet in Hong Kong, offering the audience a mesmerizing fusion of the ancient and modern, East and West.

The widely known legendary Chinese tragic romance between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai has inspired countless adaptations in opera, music, film, and other art forms.

Hong Kong Ballet's Artistic Director Septime Webre from the United States was deeply moved the first time when he heard "The Butterfly Lovers" violin concerto and believed it to be a "wonderful subject for a ballet."

Ricky Hu, choreographer-in-residence of Hong Kong Ballet, and his wife, Mai Jingwen, took on the task of creating the adaptation.

"There's a lot of pressure because the story is a classic and the audience has seen so many adaptations," Hu said.

"The story and music of 'The Butterfly Lovers' have long been deeply ingrained in people's hearts. We're not here to retell the story, but to find a modern way to tell it," Hu said.