After being modified and polished once again, the NCPA opera commission The Dawns Here Are Quiet which was premiered in 2015, will be presented to the general audience on the 9^th Anniversary of NCPA from December 21^st to 25^th.

On December 12^th, the media visited the venue of The Dawns Here Are Quiet Photo by XIAO Yi

On December 12^th, the media visited the venue of The Dawns Here Are Quiet. Such leading performers as YUAN Chenye, YANG Qi, WANG Hongyao, LI Xintong, ZHANG Zhuo, LU Sijia and dancer QIU Siting presented such highlights as 'The Soldiers Should be Men' and 'Waltz' to the journalists.

“The soldiers, soldiers should be men…” sang baritone singer YUAN Chenye in the 'The Soldiers Should be Men' at the venue, which represented the habitual 'bothering' of the warrant officer by the nosy female soldiers who have a love of beauty and fantasy, while singing soulfully of his caring for the female soldiers as siblings, as well as his admiration of the women who become 'intrepid' fighters on the battlefield. Following 'The Soldiers Should be Men', the 'Bathing' section represented the beautiful youth and lively vitality of the female soldiers with beautiful and moving voices, as well as a lithe and graceful dance. The following 'Waltz' was full of strong Russian musical ambience, fully representing the love of life and desire for love of the female soldiers.

“The soldiers, soldiers should be men…” sang baritone singer YUAN Chenye Photo by XIAO Yi

The Dawns Here Are Quiet is a Chinese opera commission created by NCPA in honour of the 70^th anniversary of victory in the 'World Anti-Fascist War'. The original work is a novel by Boris Vasilyev, the famous writer of the Soviet Union, which tells the story of several female soldiers who fight the German invaders during World War II by combining romanticism with realism, and eulogizes their faithful and optimistic characters, as well as their spirit of self-sacrifice.

The following 'Waltz' was full of strong Russian musical ambience Photo by LUO Xiaoguang

NCPA insisted on inviting a domestic first-class creative team to create the Chinese version of this classic opera. During his creative process, the composer TANG Jianping paid attention to the integration of the qualities of traditional European opera, the aesthetics of Russian national music and the spirit of the Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. Departing from the movie adaptation of the same name with respect for the original novel, scriptwriter WAN Fang vividly depicts the personalities of the characters and focuses on the contract between happiness and cruelty, thereby vividly evoking the sorrow and powerful lessons of the destruction of young life. Stage director WANG Xiaoying adopted a freehand and poetic style throughout the stage treatment of the whole opera, portraying distant and vast nature, beautiful and warm humanity, and cruel war.

The 'Bathing' section represented the beautiful youth and lively vitality of the female soldiers 
Photo by LUO Xiaoguang

The mysterious forest, gloomy marshes, cold helmets and fiery flames of war are interwoven with the persistent yearning and ardent longing of five female soldiers for a peaceful life and beautiful love, colliding with a deep and moving impact. Through this opera, in this special year, let us salute the sacrificed heroes of so many homelands.