by E.J. King Bull from 'The Dream of the Red Chamber' by Tsaoh Hsueh-Chin and Kao Ngoh as translated from the Chinese by Chi-Chen Wang
Music composed and conducted by Peter Crossley-Holland
Production by E. J. King Bull
[Starring] Beatrix Lehmann and Maurice Denham
with Andree Melly and Allan McClelland

Characters in order of speaking:

The Dream of the Red Chamber, the first Chinese novel, provides a vivid picture of aristocratic life during the flowering period of the eighteenth century, in the foreground of which unfolds the love story of Pao-Yu and Black Jade.
In writing the music the composer has made use of the Chinese five-note scale, using unusual combinations of woodwind and percussion to suggest features characteristic of oriental music.

During the interval (9.30-9.40 app.): Gramophone records of Trio Sonata in D (Alessandro Stradella, ed. Montanari), played by the Trio di Bolzano