Prince Norsang

Introduction

One of the eight great Tibetan operas, and the most influential of the three plays of the Jianggar troupe

Prince Norsang, also called Dharma King Norsang, is one of the eight traditional great Tibetan operas. In the story the southern kingdom tries to seize by sorcery the dragon spirit that guards its northern neighbour, but the spirit escapes with the help of a northern hunter and rewards him with a treasure. With it the hunter binds the fairy Yidrog Lhamo and presents her to Norsang, prince of the north, whose devotion to her rouses the jealousy of five hundred consorts. The consorts bribe a sorcerer, send the prince away to war and persuade the king to have her killed, so that she flees back to the heavens. Returning home, the prince learns the truth from his mother, wins her back after long hardships, and the consorts and the sorcerer are punished. According to old performers of the Jianggar troupe of Rinbung County, the troupe master Namgyal staged the play from The Life of King Norsang by Dingchen Tsering Wangdu, with a shorter version of the story by Doring Pandita, and it is the most influential of the three plays the troupe performs in turn.