General Secretary XI Jinping profoundly interpreted the great significance of the “Long March spirit” to contemporary strivers with his words, “Our generation will also have a long way to go.” On May 20^th, 2019, General Secretary XI Jinping made a return visit to Yudu County, Quzhou City, Jiangxi Province and presented a bouquet respectfully to the revolutionary martyrs at the starting point of the Long March on which the Central Red Army walked. In the year when the People's Republic of China is celebrating its 70^th birthday, NCPA Commission & Chinese Epic Opera The Long March made its Guangdong debut in the Guangzhou Opera House at the latter’s invitation, and appeared at the “Guangzhou Arts Festival - Theatre 2019”, giving its regards to the “Long March spirit”.

NCPA Commission & Chinese Epic Opera The Long March made its Guangdong debut in the Guangzhou Opera House.
Photo by NIU Xiaobei

On the night of May 31^st, Artistic Director of the NCPA, conductor LÜ Jia, raised his baton over NCPA Chorus and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, which had joined NCPA opera production for the first time, to give a virtuoso performance with Chinese singers YAN Weiwen, WANG Hongwei, WANG Zhe, GONG Shuang and LI Yang, and NCPA resident artists, such as WANG Haitao, GUAN Zhijing and JIN Zhengjian, casting light on the hardships and heroic images that filled the great Long March.

The performance kicked off with the gripping and electrifying sound of the “overture” from the orchestra pit. Under LÜ Jia’s baton, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra built a magnificent sound field in high spirits. As a long winding line of march appeared on the multimedia projection screen, an “audio-visual operatic epic of the Long March” unfolded slowly like a picture scroll in front of the audience. The composer YIN Qing composed this red opera with feelings full of revolutionary romanticism, making it well accepted by audience in its Guangdong debut.

 

Ms. SU, a member of a community choir in Guangzhou, said excitedly after her opera attendance, “Peach Flowers Blossom in My Heart is a most frequently performed work in our repertoire. But after enjoying it from beginning to end in the opera, I’ve got a better understanding of it! In the past, we always felt that an opera was hard to ‘understand’, but The Long March really sounds good and indeed soul-stirring. Mr. YIN Qing is great, the NCPA is great!”

Chinese singers YAN Weiwen and WANG Zhe
Photo by NIU Xiaobei

Like the composer YIN Qing, TIAN Qinxin, the director of this opera and Vice President of the National Theatre of China, arrived in Guangzhou a couple of days in advance. She said, “The Long March has been performed for more than 30 times in six rounds in the past three years. The audience loves the opera because it makes the people in peacetime feel a belief, a force and a sound of the times.”

From conception to many rounds of performances, NCPA persists in producing and staging “The Long March in the spirit of the Long March. ” More than 200 performers from Beijing, Guangzhou and Taiyuang joined The Long March when it was put on in Guangzhou, and 16 heavy trucks were used for props transportation. All kinds of hardships, including stormy weather, were overcome, ensuring the high quality of the performance. It is due to such full enthusiasm that has made it hard to get a ticket for The Long March since its premiere at the NCPA in 2016. On the night of May 31^st, all the seats in the Guangzhou Opera House were occupied, once again proving this masterpiece’s strong box office appeal.

All the seats in the Guangzhou Opera House were occupied, once again proving this masterpiece’s strong box office appeal.
Photo by NIU Xiaobei

The opera The Long March were be staged again and again in Guangzhou till June 3^rd. On the night of June 1^st, this art of work that represents the spirit and soul of the nation will be interpreted by NCPA resident artists WANG Chong, LIU Songhu, LI Xintong, GUAN Zhijing and JIN Zhengjian, principal tenor of NCPA Chorus LIANG Yufeng, and young singers WANG Yifeng and LI Yang.