From December 20^th to 29^th, the NCPA’s first musical commission War & Peace will meet the audience at the Beijing Performing Arts Centre. On November 20^th, a press conference was held for the musical at the NCPA, attended by ZHANG Yao, Vice President of the NCPA and Chief Supervisor of War & Peace, Music Director and Composer SHU Nan, Playwright and Lyricist YU Rongjun, Director Alina Chevik, Production Director WANG Xiangqian and Choreographer Irina Korneeva, among others. They shared with the media the production and rehearsal process of the musical and highlights. The lead cast, including LI Zemei, MI Chenchen, HU Junming, JIN Shengquan, WANG Kai, HE Liangchen, CAI Xinru and SUN Dou’er, attended the press conference, as well. They performed beautiful arias and presented their interpretation of the characters.

 

Leo Tolstoy’s full-length novel War & Peace is a world literary classic known to every household and a symbol of Russian culture. This encyclopedic grand epic, unfolding around what was experienced by four noble families - Bolkonsky, Bezukhov, Rostov and Kurakin, with major historical events that took place in Russia in the early 19^th century as the clue, offering an alternate description of war and peace. This novel has been made into films, TV series, operas and other forms of art, enjoying high popularity among global audiences. This year marks the 75^th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Russia. The NCPA would love to present musical commission War & Peace so that this classic masterwork should shine with vitality on a new stage. “War” and “peace”, two lifestyles and clues, are described alternately from a contemporary perspective. The musical eulogises the spirit of patriotism and heroism, praises the people who still have a passion for life and continue to pursue happiness after recognising the essence of life.

 

As the NCPA’s first musical commission, War & Peace took two years to conceive and produce. According to ZHAO Yang, Vice President of the NCPA, in the early days of production, a few staff members of the NCPA Art Creation Centre made a special visit to several theatres in Shanghai and Beijing for research on musical production. They comprehensively studied and understood the rules of musical production and the mode of work. They also had numerous exchanges with musical experts and collected various folk songs. The creative team revised their draft again and again for ever greater perfection, dedicating all-out efforts for the work.

For the musical, SHU Nan been invited as Music Director and Composer, YU Rongjun as Playwright and Lyricist and Russian director Alina Chevik as Director. The musical also features Russian choreographer Irina Korneeva, set designer and costume designer Vyacheslav Okunev, etc. These artists can offer a strong guarantee for the artistic quality of the musical. At the press conference, the eight main performers delivered the aria Great Comet together, unravelling the mystery of the music for the first time.

Photo by LIU Fang