NCPA opera commission FANG Zhimin will usher in its second round of exciting shows during the National Day holiday from September 28^th to October 2^nd. At the rehearsal on September 20^th, the lead cast performed for the media the wonderful aria of FANG Zhimin’s wife MIAO Min after being sent to jail in the second half. A special guest, FANG Zhimin’s great-granddaughter FANG Minglu, also visited the rehearsal hall. 

As a descendant of the revolutionary hero FANG Zhimin, FANG Minglu has grown up hearing her great-grandfather’s story since childhood, and the heroic spirit has accompanied her growth process for over 20 years. She also has sincere feelings for the opera FANG Zhimin. After listening to the graceful aria, she was deeply touched, and spoke tenderly with the director LIAO Xianghong about the hero’s past and the revolutionary spirit never fading away. 

Another two arias were also highlights of the day. Chirping Cuckoos on Azaleas, the 7^th piece of music in the second half, is the aria of MIAO Min, FANG Zhimin’s wife. Although she was much afflicted with great suffering in prison, her revolutionary will remained incomparably firm. The aria expresses MIAO Min’s heroic feelings and fiery rebirth through the image of the azalea. 

If I Can Survive, the 15^th piece of music in the second half, expresses the heartfelt inmost wishes of the leading character after his sacrifice. The lyrics are selected from the most impressive passages with the deepest feeling in Lovely China, contributing to the fullest and the most delightful aria of FANG Zhimin in the whole opera. 

Performance Note

FANG Zhimin is an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, a militarist, and a great leader of peasant movements. He was one of the main founders of the Northeast Jiangxi and Fujian-Zhejiang-(Anhui)-Jiangxi revolutionary bases and the 10^th Army Corps of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (the Northward Anti-Japanese Task Force) and one of the major leaders of the latter during the Agrarian Revolutionary War. His great works written before his death, especially those finished in jail such as Beloved China and Honest Poverty, reflect his truth-filled thoughts and affluent experience in the revolution, leaving a precious revolutionary legacy and spiritual wealth for us.