Summary

Act One, Scene 8. Scene 8, in flashback, takes place at a Chinese opera house and the streets of Beijing in 1960. Gallimard addresses the audience, saying his wife's question of what the Chinese opera was like stuck in his head, and though he asked around, no one could tell him. Gallimard's curiosity finally won him over. He describes the setting at the opera as hot and full of smoke.

The upstage area of the stage is lit as the stage at the opera. Song glides amongst dancers and drums suddenly come to a halt. Song turns and looks directly at Gallimard, steps off the stage and walks up to him. She begins to remove her costume, wearing simple baggy clothes underneath. The show is over. Gallimard and Song talk. She discusses the fact that she loves her fans for being fans, but not necessarily the...