Voicing their passion
Tradition and dance provide a foundation for an absorbing season as opera company stages productions designed to appeal to a wide audience, Zhang Kun reports.
Comprising four classical opera productions, an assortment of new original Chinese operas, a symphonic chorus, dance theater projects and a series of salons and new initiatives, the Shanghai Opera House's performance schedule for this year is one that would leave many art lovers enthused.
The Shanghai Opera House unveiled the schedule on Feb 1 and announced that its 2023 season will open with two Puccini operas: La Boheme and Tosca.
La Boheme is directed by Italian Marco Carniti and features a new setting, a postapocalyptic Paris that is designed by Chinese director Yang Jingze.
Tosca, which will feature celebrated Chinese soprano He Hui, marks the first joint production of three companies in China: the National Centre for the Performing Arts, the Shanghai Opera House and the Shaanxi Opera House.
The production is expected to set a good example for opera development in China.
"We will not only invite leading artists from home and abroad to take part in these productions, but also demonstrate our strength in opera creation, production and interpretation," says Xu Zhong, director of the Shanghai Opera House.
A renowned opera conductor and composer, Xu holds the baton for most of the opera productions of the company.
He will also be creating new compositions for productions in the new season as well.
Two Wagner operas in the new season will also feature international collaborations.
The Flying Dutchman, jointly created by the Shanghai Opera House and the Theater Erfurt of Germany, premiered in Erfurt and Shanghai in 2018.
The production will be revived this May and feature renowned bass singer Todd Thomas, soprano He and leading opera artists of the Shanghai Opera House.
It will be presented at the Guangzhou Opera House from May 5 to 7, and then at the Shangyin Opera House in Shanghai from May 19 to 21.
The other Wagner opera, Lohengrin will feature the first collaboration between the Shanghai Opera House, the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Bayerische Staatsoper, the state opera house of Bavaria, Germany.
Lohengrin will be presented at the Shanghai Grand Theatre from Sept 15 to 17.
The leading characters will be played by renowned Wagnerian opera singers: tenor Kalus Florian Vogt, soprano Johanni van Oostrum and bass Andreas Bauer Kanabas.
This is the first time the prestigious German opera house is working with a Chinese art troupe, Xu says.
A new choral symphony titled The Land of Rejuvenation will be presented at the Shangyin Opera House on March 18. Composed by Zhao Xi, Liu Hao and Xu, the production is an ode to China's modernization, innovation and development.
A series of dance productions will be presented by the Shanghai Opera House, too.
Last year, the company joined hands with US-based Chinese ballerina Tan Yuanyuan and a team of renowned Chinese ballet dancers to launch the new production White Snake.
Combining classical Chinese dance and ballet choreography, the critically acclaimed production will go on a tour of China from this month to April, with three performances taking place from March 17 to 19 at the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
A new dance theater show, The Ninth Year of Yonghe, will premiere at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on Nov 18.
Centered on stories about one of China's most celebrated calligraphy piece, Lantingji Xu, or Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion, composed by Wang Xizhi (303-361), the dance production will take traditional Chinese art and culture to the modern world and appeal to contemporary audiences.
Chang'e, another show with the same objective, will also embark on a tour of China and tell the Chinese folklore about an immortal woman living on the moon.
Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn
