Directing
Chen Shi-Zheng
Changsha, Hunan, China
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Chen Shi-Zheng (born in 1963 in Changsha, Hunan, China) is a New York-based theater director. Having earned a BA from the Hunan Art School in Traditional Opera, he received his MA from the Tisch School of Art at New York University. In 2000, Chen was awarded the title Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. Chen's directorial debut film, Dark Matter, was released in 2007, starring Liu Ye and Meryl Streep. This film won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. He also directed Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's operatic stage adaptation of Monkey: Journey to the West at the Manchester International Festival in June–July 2007. In 2008 he directed the premiere production of Stewart Wallace's opera The Bonesetter's Daughter at the San Francisco Opera. Description above from the Wikipedia article Shi-Zheng Chen, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acting credits
Behind the camera
NRThe film uses a documentary approach to tell the stories of 12 Chinese pioneers, chosen from the fields of business and the arts. The protagonists reflect upon their life journeys against the backdrop of modern China.
Yulu
2011
5.6Liu Xing a brilliant Chinese student, arrives at University and makes the transition into American life with the help of Joanna Silver. Xing joins a cosmology group working to create a model of the origins of the universe. He is obsessed with the study of dark matter and a theory that conflicts with the group's model. When he begins to make breakthroughs of his own, he encounters obstructions.
Dark Matter
2008
NRChen Shi-Zheng helms Puccini's spectacular opera on Sydney Harbour, starring Dragana Radakovic and Riccardo Massi. A sleek, modern production featuring contemporary cinema, Chinese acrobatics, and breathtaking fireworks. Steering away from traditional styles, this lavish production presents a sleek, modern China, blending spectacular staging with elements of modern cinema and breathtaking Chinese acrobatics. The drama unfolds on a stunning set designed by Dan Potra, featuring a shimmering 18-metre-tall pagoda and a colossal, 60-metre fire-breathing dragon whose tail morphs into the Great Wall. Dragana Radakovic stars as the icy princess Turandot, alongside Riccardo Massi as Calaf, the mysterious prince determined to win her love or face the executioner’s blade. With a cast of over 70 performers, brilliant fireworks lighting up the night sky, and a soaring score that includes the legendary aria ‘Nessun dorma’, this is an unmissable, open-air cinematic event.
Opera Australia: Turandot
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2.9Ning Ning is a new student at her school, where her passion for singing helps her form a relationship with a boy in her class. Together with their friends, they fight the odds to participate in an inter-school singing competition.
High School Musical China: College Dreams
2010
7.02012 telecast production of John Adams's opera Nixon in China, recorded at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France.
John Adams: Nixon in China
2012
NRNarrated excerpts from Chen Shi-Zheng’s acclaimed stage production of Tang Xianzu’s The Peony Pavilion, filmed in Paris after its Lincoln Center presentation. This two-hour document condenses the epic kunqu love story of Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei through opera, dance, acrobatics, puppetry, martial arts and Robert Powell’s narration, preserving the atmosphere of a much longer theatrical event.
The Peony Pavilion
2001
