In the evening of September 28th, the sincere melodies of the NCPA opera commission FANG Zhimin were performed again on NCPA’s stage, uncovering the prelude of China’s 67th anniversary.
In the role of FANG Zhimin, XUE Haoyin performed a tenor 'marathon' of over two hours of perfect.
The opera FANG Zhimin sets out to present the life ideals and charm of the personality of FANG Zhimin to resonate with and inspire contemporary people, while also showing 'reality' and the 'past' to the audience through modern operatic presentation. The 'realistic space-time' concept runs through the whole opera, revealing FANG Zhimin’s life after being imprisoned and his struggle with the interrogator and martial division chief HU Yi, the warden and other people, while the 'past space-time' segments unfold certain important events in FANG Zhimin's life experience through flashbacks. The high wall on the stage represents 'realistic space-time'; the chorus is embedded in the high wall to make it appear to 'speak', reflecting the severe environment of the prison in which FANG Zhimin is held. At the same time, like a heavy gate, the high wall opens and closes greatly with the flow of FANG Zhimin’s consciousness, embodying his spiritual journey through externalization and poetry. In the 'past space-time', from the blood-spattered canyon battlefield and 'Oriental Paris' with song and dance, to the bold and generous cloud creek scroll, the many grand visual scenes created by multimedia integrated with live action overwhelm the audience by presenting episodes from the life of FANG Zhimin one after another.
Led by ZHANG Yi that evening, the NCPA Orchestra played extremely tensile musical melodies. According to the development of the plot, the music was by turns extremely tense and rapid, and magnificent and beautiful, leading the audience to experience the war and appreciate the boldness and ambition of their predecessors as though seeing and hearing them in person.
FANG Zhimin (played by XUE Haoyin) and his wife MIAO Min (played by ZHAO LILI)
FANG Zhimin and his mother (Played by LIU Shan)
HU Yi (played by LIU Songhu)
On the premise of the characteristics of each role, the arias created by composer MENG Weidong for the opera FANG Zhimin are focused on representing a sense of power. In the role of FANG Zhimin, XUE Haoyin performed a tenor 'marathon' of over two hours of perfect singing full of passion. Played by LIU Songhu, HU Yi is a key role in the opera's development, and not an absolute 'villain'. HU Yi was gradually moved by FANG Zhimin’s ideals in his repeated conflicts with FANG Zhimin. It was HU Yi’s help that contributed to the publishing of FANG Zhimin’s manuscripts. Playing the role of MIAO Min, the skilled soprano singer and performer ZHAO Lili affectionately sang the duet 'If I See You' with her husband FANG Zhimin across the divide in the prison, showing emotional and tear-jerking power. LIU Shan who plays the mother of FANG Zhimin and KOU Jing who plays the warden illuminated FANG Zhimin’s tenderness towards his relatives and boldness when facing his enemies as a man of flesh and blood.
In addition, the NCPA Chorus also gave a wonderful performance in the opera, especially in 'Decide for the Workers and Peasants' jointly sung by FANG Zhimin and the chorus with an echoing between solo and chorus, creating an effect of perfect harmony.
After the premiere on September 28th, the second group of actors including WANG Kai, ZHANG Yang and LI Xintong will bring equally wonderful performances for the audience. The performances will last until October 2nd.
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