Tan Jing is Xi'er and Meng Guanglu is her father in performances of The White-Haired Girl, until July 4. Provided to China Daily

The story of a poor peasant woman who is rescued from her bleak life by a brave soldier of New China is revived by the NCPA. Jules Quartly reports.

The White-Haired Girl is essentially a parable about good triumphing over evil. Based on the real-life stories of poor peasant women in the 1920s and 30s, it was shorn of nuance to become an iconic revolutionary opera and later a ballet and film - a story that has become part of the country's recent mythology.

Appropriately, it has once more been revived, this time at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing for the 90th anniversary celebration of the Communist Party of China. Based on the performance presented for the CPC's Seventh Congress in 1945, the original White-Haired Girl, Wang Kun, now in her 80s, is a vocal advisor and artistic director.

It would be easy to dismiss the production as more edification than entertainment, but White-Haired Girl is actually a brave and ultimately successful attempt to blend genres. It has a number of show-stopping tunes that blend Northern folk music, Chinese and Western opera, such as the famous melody, Blowing North Wind, which the peasant Xi'er sings when she returns happily to the family hearth on New Year's Eve, unaware that her father has sold her into slavery.

An evil landlord has forced the poor man to give her away in liu of debts, after which he tragically dies while the winter snow falls. Xi'er is treated abominably by the landlord, raped and eventually manages to escape into the mountains. Her terrible experiences cause her hair to turn white and locals, who don't recognize the ghostly creature, believe her to be the avenging maiden of the mountain.

The bleak storyline - and Xi'er - are saved when the CPC comes to the rescue, in the guise of her ex-boyfriend, now a soldier devoted to the Party. He returns from the wars after three long years and rehabilitates Xi'er, thereby demonstrating life in New China is just, which is cause for celebration and a song with the line: "People were treated like ghosts in the old world, like people in the new." The landlord is led off to receive his just retribution.

This is the cue for a stage full of people to rejoice, the red flag to be waved, and the couple are shown together at last, silhouetted on a rock under a deep red sun. It's stirring stuff and Wednesday night's performance was enthusiastically received.

For foreigners, this would be a great introduction to Chinese culture, made accessible by its simple story line and Western musical elements. There are also English subtitles for the songs, so it is quite easy to follow the action. Even better would have been translation for the dialogue too, and it is puzzling why this was not provided.

In the performance I saw, Xi'er's father played by Zhang Lin died too soon, as his voice and presence were outstanding. Wang Na took the title role and just managed to carry the show. For the daily performances until July 4, heavyweight stars Tan Jing and Meng Guanglu take over the acting reins and should give the show an added gloss.

As you might reasonably expect of a NCPA and China Oriental Performing Arts Group co-production, the stage settings and lighting are first class; while a full orchestra and choir under the young baton of Li Xincao ensure justice is also done to the songs.

All in all, a satisfying and memorable performance, a classic tale of good overcoming evil, a Cinderella and her prince in a revolutionary setting.