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The NCPA children’s opera commission Effendi & His Double had its premiere in 2024. Relying on sophisticated production, exquisite stage presentation, an all-star cast and an amusing but instructive plot, it achieved success in both box office revenue and reputation, becoming a highly popular children’s opera sought after by the audience of all ages. Now this excellent work, full of fun and wisdom, will be restaged.
The opera tells a story about Effendi waging a battle of wits against his double in Sun City. He maintains justice by punishing the fake Effendi, who cheats the citizens of Sun City. Furthermore, during the battle of wits, he makes the little king of Sun City realise the importance of being a good king loved by the citizens.
The opera boasts a storyline set up from children’s perspective. Meanwhile, adults’ precious childlike feeling is ready to be aroused. As the story unfolds with ups and downs, the opera is in positive pursuit of justice and perfectionism, to present in melodious singing what is true, good and beautiful in children’s world. Let’s show children into the colourful world of art so that they may set sail with their dreams on the vast ocean of children’s opera art.
Presenter / Producer: National Centre for the Performing Arts
Executive Presenter: WANG Ning
Chief Producers: ZHAO Haiying, ZHU Jing, WANG Cheng, ZHANG Yao, GUAN Jianbo, MA Rongguo, WANG Ban, LI Jin
Executive Producer: LI Jin
Performed by NCPA Resident Singers, China NCPA Chorus, China National Opera & Dance Drama Theatre Symphony Orchestra
Composer: Baobao
Librettist: DONG Ni
Conductor: JIN Gang
Stage Director: MAO Ernan
Set Designer: WANG Chen
Costume Designer: CAO Tingting
Lighting Designer: HAN Jiang
Make-up Designer: WANG Ting
Movement Designer: XU Suihan
Props Designer: WANG Weijun
Sound Designer: RONG Hua
Cast
Effendi (Tenor): JIN Zhengjian●
His Double (Bass/Baritone): GUAN Zhijing●(19:30 on Dec. 2/4)/ WANG Hexiang●(19:30 on Dec. 3/5)
Good Donkey (Bass/Baritone): MEI Jie
Bad Donkey (Tenor): LIANG Yufeng▲
Parida (Soprano): ZHENG Ruzhi
The King (Mezzo-soprano): HU Yue
Messenger (Tenor): MA Guoyi
Imperial Bodyguards (Theatre): YANG Chen, Iharas
Blacksmith (Theatre): WANG Shangbin
Sister (Theatre): QIANG Wen
Earthenware Seller (Dance): LI Hao
Baked Crusty Pancake Seller (Dance): Yelmike
Little Girl (Theatre): LI Yanni
Little Boy (Theatre): LIU Chenhe
●China NCPA Opera Singer
▲China NCPA Chorus Member
Effendi, who has a strong sense of justice and travels everywhere to help the weak, comes to Sun City one day and finds that there is someone masquerading as him to deceive the people here. So Effendi devises a bright idea and causes fake Effendi to tamely return the money he has cheated of the citizens.
After becoming a tax officer, Fake Effendi makes every attempt to hit on what the little king likes in order to exploit the people. Moreover, what he does makes it difficult to know Effendi from the false. At the critical juncture, Effendi exercises his magic power, cutting down fake Effendi to size.
The truth is brought into daylight, and every citizen of Sun City is as cheerful as a lark. The little king repents and takes the resolution to be a good king loved by the citizens.
Thanks to Effendi’s wisdom and bravery, the citizens of Sun City eventually embrace the warm sunshine of love and justice.
BaobaoComposer
Baobao
Baobao is a young composer and member of the China Musicians Association, holding a Master’s Degree from the China Conservatory of Music. She specialises in composing different genres of music including symphonic music and other genres of music for operas, musicals, TV dramas, songs, etc. She has won many awards in various national competitions, receiving financial support from the China National Arts Fund and China Federation of Literary and Art Circles several times, and served as the managing producer and/or music director for many large-scale national evening parties held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and China Musicians Association.
Baobao has composed music for the children’s national opera commission Effendi, children’s song and dance drama Little Candy’s Fantastic Journey, children’s musical commission The Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs, acrobatic drama commission Sea Voyage for Dreams, large-scale symphonic suite commission Yuhua Suite, etc.
Baobao has composed music for songs including Health to the Tune of Daodao, Dream Comes True in Spring, The Light of Asia, and Sea Route. She has composed music for the TV series The Story of Longmen Village. She has also composed orchestral music including Sudden and Perplexing Changes, DU Liniang’s Thoughts, Cutting The Strings, etc.
DONG NiLibrettist
DONG Ni
DONG Ni is a first-class playwright at the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater and Vice President of the Chinese Theatre Literature Association.
Her representative stage plays include dramas Tuoba Xianbei, Börte, ZHAO Yiman, Eight Hundred Li of Freezing Cold, Locomotive, LIN Jilu, etc., poetic dramas DENG Jiaxian, Eternal Flame, etc., children’s dramas Peter Pan, The Child Who Wants to Fly, Nezha, Fishing Boy, Boy Marx, Flying Together, etc., song and dance dramas Life of Campus, Four Generations of Friendly Feelings in a Bucket of Highland sBarley, Happy Golden Train, etc., dance dramas Daughter of the Sun, The Wild Horse, etc., and operas The Ballad of Canal, Missile Commander, Beacon Fire from Green Mountain, Genghis Khan, XIAO Hong, Wheat Sowing at the Autumnal Equinox, Singing for Nanniwan, Struggle, etc.
DONG Ni and her works have won the “National Project to the Distillation of the Stage Art” Award for Top Ten Plays, the “Five-One Project” Award by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Wenhua Award for Excellent Productions, the Gold Award for Best Full-length Script at the National Theatre Culture Awards, the Excellent Production Award and Best Playwright Award at the Theatrical Festival of the Whole Army, the Golden Lion Award, the First Prize at the “TIAN Han Prize for Drama”, the Special Contribution Award at the CAO Yu Cup, etc. Her works have been selected as one of the 100 key stage plays for “celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the CPC” and as a key drama for the “Chinese National Opera Inheritance & Development Project”. Many works that featured her as the playwright have received financial support for large-scale stage play production or for communication and popularisation from the China National Arts Fund.
JIN GangConductor
JIN Gang
JIN Gang is one of the most popular young conductors in today’s music scene. He studied under Mr. LI Xincao, a famous conductor and educator and President of the China Conservatory of Music. Now, he is Principal Conductor of the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater Symphony Orchestra and Lanzhou Symphony Orchestra.
In recent years, JIN Gang has conducted dozens of works including national dance dramas LI Bai and Confucius, realistic dance drama Tide of Era, national opera commissions The White-Haired Girl, The Daughter of the Party, and The Road to Poverty Alleviation, world classic operas Cavalleria Rusticana, La Bohème, and La Traviata, etc. In 2022, he successfully conducted the world premiere of the poetic musical The Great River. In 2023, he conducted the “Concert of Northern Shaanxi Folk Songs” on its national tour. “He is a passionate and thoughtful conductor. He is keen, resolute and sensitive and has inconspicuous control over his heart. Under his baton, the orchestra plays music in perfect unison”.
JIN Gang received greetings as an assistant conductor in the theatrical performance given to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the PRC, the “New Year Tea Party” of the CPPCC and the CPC Central Committee Spring Festival Rally.
As one of the conductors who conducted the symphony concerts held to celebrate the 102nd Anniversary of the Founding of the CPC, he has cooperated frequently with the China National Symphony Orchestra, China National Opera House, Shanghai Opera House, National Ballet of China Symphony Orchestra, China NCPA Orchestra and numerous other Chinese symphony orchestras.
MAO ErnanDirector
MAO Ernan
MAO Ernan is a first-class director and Head of the Creative Department of the China National Theatre for Children, holding a Master’s Degree in arts from the Central Academy of Drama (taught by Prof. LIU Libin). He’s one of the first young cultural elites to be named by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee.
MAO Ernan won the Wenhua Award for Best Director at the 17th Chinese Government Award for Culture and Arts, the Award for Best Children’s Drama Director at the First International Academy Awards, etc., and was included in the List of Influential Contemporary Little Theatre Directors over Forty Years. As a director, his Information Failing to be Send Out was selected as a key stage play for celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the CPC, The Adventure of Sister and Brother Fireflies won the Fourth Animation Award for “Best Animation Work” at the Chinese Government Award for Culture and Arts, Three Monks won the Excellent Production Award in the First “Zijin Cup” National Little Theater Competition and the “Excellent Production Award” at the Eighth International Academy Awards, the “Special Nomination Award” at the 25th Subotica International Theatre Festival, experimental theatre If Leave won the “Town Theatre Award” at the 2014 Wuzhen Theatre Festival, etc. On behalf of China, his works have twice appeared on the highest stage of the world’s children’s theatre - the triennial art conference held by the ASSITEJ, making him the only Chinese director to receive this honour.
MAO Ernan has directed more than 30 stage plays including musical Pocket Detective, children’s dramas Information Failing to be Send Out, The Adventure of Sister and Brother Fireflies, Little Hero Yulai, Miss YE Xian, The Fantasy Adventure of Gerda, Muyoucun, Three Monks and The Adventures of a Little Rag Doll, dramas Faithful Practice, What Does Man Still Have, The Palace Museum Products, If Leave, In Full Bloom, Burning, The Elephant in the Room, and The Darkroom Printer, and musical theatre A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
WANG ChenSet Designer
WANG Chen
WANG Chen is Set Design Director of the National Theatre of China, holding a Master’s Degree in stage design from the Central Academy of Drama.
WANG Chen is a stage visual artist. In recent years, he has served as a stage designer in theatrical performances, TV programmes, and large-scale cultural and artistic performances. Since 2005, he has worked as a set designer and visual director for more than 80 theatrical performances, more than 50 large-scale TV variety programmes and large-scale artistic activities.
WANG Chen has won numerous awards in national, provincial and municipal competitions. To be specific, his Vagrant Life of Sanmao won the “Excellent Set Design Award” at the 11th Guangdong Art Festival, Everyone is Sick won the “Excellent Set Design Award” at the Excellent Theatre Festival by the Ministry of Culture, The Piano in a Factory won the “14th Wenhua Award for Stage Design”, Teacher Guimei won the “Wenhua Grand Award” at the 17th Wenhua Award by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
His representative creative works include dramas Spring Dawns Along the Su Causeway, The Literature and Art in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Beijing Fayuan Temple, The Founding Ceremony of PRC, etc., musicals Jinsha, The Piano in a Factory, A Different Flame, etc., operas The Long March, LIN Huiyin, The Road to Poverty Alleviation, etc., dance dramas Towering Zhengyang Gate, The Kite, etc., evening parties China in the Stories, China in the Classics, Departure from Yan’an, etc., live-action performance A Moonlit Night on the Spring River, water theatre Green Snake for the Wuzhen Theatre Festival, A Great Journey, staged to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the CPC, etc.
CAO TingtingCostume Designer
CAO Tingting
CAO Tingting is a staff member of the Central Academy of Drama.
Her work Beginning won the First Prize in the First Kirin Cup Character Modelling Competition. Her work Ink won the Best Fabric Creativity Award and Outstanding Costume Designer Award in the “16th Hanbo Cup International Competition for Young Costume Designers”. The work was published in Fashion China.
CAO Tingting has participated in many large-scale events, including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou (as hair style designer), In Full Bloom, a short video shown at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing (as costume designer), the Opening Ceremony of the Basketball World Cup 2019 (as chief costume designer), and “The Backbone of the Republic” Theme Evening Party at the Great Hall of the People (as chief costume designer and hair style designer).
Her representative theatrical works include the China National Theatre for Children Cat God in the Imperial Palace, Beijing Children’s Art Theatre Co., Ltd. musicals The Great Adventure of the Ice Bear, I Will Love You Forever, Leopard Cat and Third Daughter on the Roof and The Black Dog Gets into Trouble, China Coal Mine Art Troupe The Terracotta Warriors, Directing Department of the Central Academy of Drama graduation project Requiem (2022) and Department of Dance Theatre graduation project Bumengsanze (2023) (as costume designer and hair style designer). She is the costume designer for the Sichuan People’s Art Theatre High Tune, Coal Mine Art Troupe Music in the Classics, Fujian People’s Art Theatre A Thousand Years of Dream: Emperor Wu of Han, Drama Theatre of Inner Mongolia Great National Craftsmen, Shanxi Provincial Drama Theatre Jiawuji, China National Arts Fund musicals The Stenographer, The Newsboy and Sparkling Red Star, musical Painted Skin, stage play A Chinese Odyssey Part Two - Cinderella, musical West Chamber, Shiki Theatre Company musical The Cat Who Wanted to Be a Cat (in Chinese), etc.
HAN JiangLighting Designer
HAN Jiang
HAN Jiang, who is a graduate of the Department of Stage Design, Central Academy of Drama, joined the National Ballet of China in 2002 and was invited for accession to the National Theatre of China in 2016. As an outstanding stage visual artist, he excels in set design and lighting design, as well. In terms of visual art creation, he has made designs for stage plays such as dances, dramas, traditional operas, operas, etc., and developed a unique aesthetic style of his own through cooperation with major directors in the industry. HAN Jiang has worked for 20 years and created hundreds of stage productions.
His representative works include ballets The Peony Pavilion, Sparkling Red Star, Xishi, TANG Yin, etc., modern dance dramas Lotus, Wild Grass, February in Early Spring, Elegy for the Wilderness, White Snake, etc., national dance dramas Mulan, ZHU Ziqing, etc., dramas The Master Builder, White Deer Plain, The Lady from the Sea, etc., operas A Madman’s Diary, The Wilderness, Die Winterreise, etc., and traditional operas The Golden Cangue, Phoenix Courtship, Silver Zheng Breaks, The Pretender, etc.
The ballet The Peony Pavilion won the Set Design Award at the National Festival for Art Troupes, and was performed at the Opening Ceremony of the Edinburgh Festival. The musical Osmanthus Rain won the Wenhua Award at the Ninth China Art Festival. The dance Smog was staged at the “Next” Festival held at the BAM Theatre, New York, USA. The Portrait of Four Beauties won the Set Design Award at the National Festival for Art Troupes. The traditional opera The Three Women Ghosts won the Grand Award for Experimental Theatre at the National Theatre Culture Awards. The dance Wild Grass was performed at the “Next” Festival held at the BAM Theatre, New York, USA. The drama The Lady from the Sea won the Best Set Design Award at the Shanghai One Drama Awards.
WANG TingMakeup Designer
WANG Ting
WANG Ting, holding a Master’s Degree in hair style design from the Department of Stage Design, Central Academy of Drama, is a staff member of the Central Academy of Drama. Many stage plays that she participated in have won national awards. She served as the chief hair style designer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the XIII Winter Paralympic Games Beijing in 2022. In 2018, she won the China Golden Statue Award for Film and TV Makeup Design and the Best Creative Design Award at the Performing Arts Costume Design Exhibition by the China Institute of Stage Design.
Her representative design works include dramas Betrayal, Doktor Knock, Thunderstorm, After Thunderstorm, Peking Man, Frankenstein, Waiting for Godot, LAO She Going to the Market, Mr. MA & Son, The Tempest, The True Story of Ah Q, LAO She’s Short Stories, The Palace Museum Products, Faithful Practice, Macbeth’s Secret, A Comedy from QikQok Dynasty, The Tempest, and I Don’t to Sing Alone, And dance dramas Chinese Story - Twelve Chinese Zodiac Signs, Butterfly Lovers, Monk Faxian, Tsangyang Gyatso, Customs of Qi State: Futian, Yun, Golden Peacock - Nandiedina, Fleeting Shadow, Lost Dream of Ghost Romance and Fenmo.
Her representative large-scale stage shows include Traces·Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River, Capital of Chinese Characters·Night Cruise on Huan River, Anyang, Returning to the State of Ba in Dreams, Golden Sound and Jade Vibration, Tai Chi Diagram, The Legend of the White Snake, A Chinese Ghost Story and The Fantasy Adventure of Gerda. Her representative operas include The Medium, Il Mondo Della Luna, The Death of Oedipus, The Death of Chuang Tsu, Tea, Yongle, White Deer Plain, La Traviata and Jinsha River. Her representative musicals include Pocket Detective, Two Times Lotte and Molly Molly. Her representative film and TV works include Puppy Love, A Big House and Confidantes.
XU SuihanMovement Director
XU Suihan
XU Suihan is a second-class director at the Beijing Dance Drama & Opera, holding a Master’s Degree from the Beijing Dance Academy, a dancer at the Frontline Art Troupe of the Political Department of the Lanzhou Military Region, Movement Director of the Drama Troupe of General Political Department of the Chinese PLA, a member of the China Dancers Association, a council member of the Beijing Acrobats Association and a member of the Beijing Theatre Association.
Her representative works include dance drama commission The Woman at the Foot of the Holy Mountain, large-scale live-action song and dance drama Chonggye Dawadolma (as chief choreographer), Drama Troupe of General Political Department large-scale dramas MAO Zedong’s Imagination in Xibaipo and Life Archives (as digital interactive dance Touring the Heavens to look Far at One Thousand Rivers, extended XR experimental theatre The Pipa Player, which was selected for the First Digital Art Exhibition, dance drama commission 28 Days, immersive music space Rocking Mulan (as choreographer), and parent-child musical Pocket Detective (as assistant director and choreographer). Her works have won the Gold Award for Choreography at the Singapore International Dance Festival, the First Prize in the Ninth Dance Competition for the Five Provinces in North China, the Jury Award for Modern and Contemporary Dance at the 11th “Lotus Cup”, and First Prize in the 14th and 15th Beijing Municipal Dance Competition. XU Suihan followed the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese on its visit to the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands.
WANG WeijunProps Designer
WANG Weijun
WANG Weijun is a staff member of the NCPA, holding a degree in arts management from the Central Conservatory of Music. He has designed stage props for more than 80 theatrical works produced by the NCPA, including operas, dramas, dance dramas and musicals.
WANG Weijun has designed stage props for the NCPA productions including LIN Zexu, A Village Teacher (New Version), Tosca, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Effendi & His Double, etc. He works as the props coordinator in the operas Der Ring Des Nibelungen: Das Rheingold and Roméo et Juliette, dramas The Crossroad and Returning Home on a Snowy Night, etc. His representative works include A Millennium Promise, a theatrical performance held at the “Belt and Road” Forum for International Cooperation, I Grow Up with My Motherland—For the International Children’s Day of 2019, and self-produced plays Turandot, Der Fliegende Holländer, Snow White, You and Me, The Long March, Minning Town, The Wild Rhododendron, etc.
RONG HuaSound Designer
RONG Hua
RONG Hua, a staff member of the NCPA, is a sub-senior sound designer for stage plays. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sound Engineering from the Communication University of China and a Master’s Degree in Theatre Design and Stagecraft from the Beijing University of Technology. RONG Hua has made sound designs for many stage plays. Her representative works include the NCPA opera commissions Xishi, Gianni Schicchi and Un Ballo in Maschera, children’s operas Snow White and Effendi, operas Jane Eyre, A Doll’s House, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Crossroads, and dance drama The Railway to Tibet. Her works were named excellent children’s stage dramas by Beijing or supported by the China National Arts Fund. She attended the Beijing International Ballet and Choreography Competition and the Lifetime Achievement Award Party of the Second China “Lotus Award” for Drama.
JIN Zhengjian as Effendi
JIN Zhengjian is a member of NCPA Resident Singers, a national first-class actor, and tenor. He has starred in the NCPA operas Rickshaw Boy, The Chinese Orphan, Visitors on the Snow Mountain, The Long March, Nabucco, La Traviata, Eugene Onegin, Der Fliegende Holländer, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Otello, children’s opera Effendi.
JIN has starred in more than 30 Chinese and foreign operas and musicals, and acted as a soloist or lead vocalist in lots of major performances such as the oratorio Messiah. He starred in Yimeng Mountain and Battle of Xiang River, masterpieces produced and staged in celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC.
JIN won the Solo Performance Award at the First China Opera Festival, and twice won the Excellent Solo Performance Award at the National Festival for Art Troupes and Theatres by the Ministry of Culture. Many plays featuring him have won prizes including the Wenhua Award by the Ministry of Culture, the Wenhua Award for Best New Production, and the “National Project to the Distillation of the Stage Art” Award. Yimeng Mountain has won the “Five-One Project” Award by the Publicity Department of the CPC.
When attending the Master Class at the Wolfgang Art Festival, Austria, he won the Outstanding Student Award for the Best Student, receiving praise from masters Christa Ludwig and James Levine. Funded by the French government, he went to France twice to study King, Faust, Roméo et Juliette, and other plays.
GUAN Zhijing as His Double
GUAN Zhijing is a resident singer of the NCPA, national first-class actor and bass singer.
He has appeared in the NCPA operas Rickshaw Boy, Il Trovatore, La bohème, A Village Teacher, L'Elisir d'amore, Turandot, The Chinese Orphan, Rigoletto, Xishi, Lohengrin, Le Nozze di Figaro, William Tell, Visitors on the Snow Mountain, La Gioconda, The Long March, Macbeth, Jinsha River, LAN Huahua and Effendi. He has also starred in operas such as Sister JIANG, The Wilderness, The Love Story of Rawap, Salome, Madama Butterfly, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), Tannhäuser, Tea, Le roi d'Ys and YUE Fei.
He is one of the most active bass singers in China, one of the Cultural Masters and Four Kinds of Talents in the First Batch by the Publicity Department of the CPC in 2019, Young Talent for Cultural Promotion, young creative talent by the China National Arts Fund in 2020, vocal adjudicator for the Examination Board of the China Conservatory of Music, jury member of the high-level art troupe of higher education institutions, and member of the Dongcheng District Youth Federation, Beijing.
He was awarded the Wenhua Award (Government Award) at the 8th National Vocal Competition by the Ministry of Culture (now the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) and Drama Performance Award at the first China Opera Festival by the Ministry of Culture (now the Ministry of Culture and Tourism). He enrolled in the “Carlo Bergonzi” masterclass in 2005 and was awarded a full government scholarship by the Centro Universale del Bel Canto in 2013 to study with world-renowned soprano Mirella Freni.
WANG Hexiang as His Double
WANG Hexiang is a baritone and NCPA resident singer. He plays a part in the NCPA operas The Long March, The Daughter of the Party, Le Nozze di Figaro, La Cenerentola, Pagliacci, Rigoletto, Visitors on the Snow Mountain, The Ballad of Canal, Rickshaw Boy, L’elisir d’amore, La Traviata, Carmen, Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), LAN Huahua, La Bohème, etc.
WANG Hexiang also stars in many productions supported by the China National Arts Fund, including Ode to the Lotus Flower, Ordinary World, Ballad of the Past, Picturesque Red Flag in Wind, etc. His penetrating voice and metallic timbre, as well as his accurate control and wonderful interpretation of character personality, have been praised by experts and the audience. He sang solo as a baritone at the Song of the Benevolent - Understanding the Analects of Confucius, a poetry and singing contest held by the UNESCO France. In 2016, WANG Hexiang made his debut in Desire under the Elms, a classic drama by Eugene O’Neill, a famous American dramatist. He has held many solo concerts.
WANG Hexiang has worked with a long list of well-known conductors and singers from at home and abroad, including LÜ Jia, YU Long, LI Xincao, ZHANG Guoyong, mezzo-soprano Victoria Venzi Italian baritone Leo Nucci, LIAO Changyong, Warren Mok, etc.
MEI Jie as Good Donkey
MEI Jie sings important roles of the bass repertoire in different languages. The large range, the special timbre and the legato culture of his voluminous voice make him a basso cantante with great versatility.
He has starred in such varied repertoire as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Mustafà in L’italina in Algeri, Selim in Il Turco in Italia, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Banco in Macbeth, Alidoro in La Cenerentola, Capulet in Roméo et Juliette, Ribbing in Un Ballo in Maschera. In addition, he has sung the Requiems of Verdi and Mozart, Johannes Passion of J.S.Bach, etc.
He was born in Shanghai in 1976. He studied opera singing with Prof. LI Xinchang in the Central Conservatory of Music in China, and later with Prof. Wolfgang Brendel in Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.
He has been a member of the solo ensemble of the Theater Ulm from 2006 to 2011. He is now teaching in both the Central Conservatory of Music and the Central Academy of Drama.
LIANG Yufeng as Bad Donkey
LIANG Yufeng is a young tenor and honourary artist of the NCPA. His teacher is LIU Weiwei, a famous tenor. He graduated from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China with a degree in communication engineering in 2009, and was admitted to the China NCPA Chorus that same year. Since then, he has successively acted in more than 50 Chinese and foreign operas, and has served as a soloist or lead singer at many concerts held by the NCPA. His performance in the operas and concerts is widely acclaimed by the audience. LIANG Yufeng is the NCPA Chorus Managing Director and Head of the Tenor Part.
LIANG Yufeng plays a part in the opera Falstaff (Dr. Caius), a co-production of the NCPA and Vienna State Opera; the NCPA operas Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Natanelle/Spalanzani), Le Nozze di Figaro (Basilio/Judge), Carmen (El Remendado), Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) (Berlioees), Der Rosenkavalier (Lady Marshall’s Butler/Innkeeper), Rusalka (The Hunter), and La Traviata (Giuseppe); the NCPA Chinese opera commission The Song of Youth (YU Yongze), Chinese epic opera commission The Long March (Boy Ping), and national opera commission Minning Town (Debao), NCPA classic national opera The Daughter of the Party (CHENG), children’s opera commission A Story about Growing up (The Unhappy Boy in Adulthood), and Chinese opera commissions Jinsha River (MIAO), Xishi (Bopi), The Red Guards on Honghu Lake (Laoyao), Rickshaw Boy (Platoon Leader SUN/Detective SUN), Visitors on the Snow Mountain (Third Platoon Leader), and FANG Zhimin (Jailer A).
ZHENG Ruzhi as Parida
ZHENG Ruzhi is a postgraduate student at the Voice & Opera Department of China Conservatory of Music, studying under Prof. HAN Yanwen, a first-class actress and doctoral supervisor.
ZHENG Ruzhi played “Xi’er” in the opera The White-Haired Girl at the China Conservatory of Music “‘Looking Back on A Cycle of Sixty Years in Homage to Classics’ Classic Chinese National Opera Festival” and “Xilan” in the opera Little Erhei’s Marriage. She starred as “Chunhui” in the China Conservatory of Music large-scale serenata NIE Er’s Song. She appeared at the May Fourth Gala The Angel Tells Me on CCTV “Ode to Youth in Struggle”, and sang her original single Mountains and Waters in Laughter for the Dragon Boat Festival version of CCTV Great Country Stage.
ZHENG Ruzhi won the Gold Award in Chinese Composition Group A of the Ninth Chuncheon International Singing Competition, the Bronze Award in the Grand Final of the 2020 Prokofiev International Music Competition, the Silver Award at the Eighth “Peacock Cup” Vocal Music Exhibition and Series Activities of Higher Art Institutions, the Silver Award for National Singing at the Eighth “National Soul - Vocal Music Exhibition and Series Activities of Higher Art Institutions”, the Bronze Award at the 14th Chinese “Golden Bell Award” for Music Beijing Division and the Finalist Award in the National Competition that same year.
HU Yue as The King
HU Yue is a young mezzo-soprano, holding a Doctor’s Degree in opera performance from the Central Conservatory of Music, where she used to study under Prof. SUN Yuanyuan.
HU Yue stars in many of the NCPA operas, including Roméo et Juliette as “Stéphano”, Lakmé as “Ross”, opera commission The Song of Youth as “WANG Xiaoyan”, Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi as “Jessica”, Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg as “Apprentice”, NCPA children’s opera commissions Snow White as “Queen” and A Story About Growing Up as “The Fool in his boyhood”, etc.
HU Yue is an artist selected for the “China National Arts Fund Opera Singer Training Programme”, an actress who has signed on with Opera As Drama, New York, USA, an actress who has signed on with the U.S. Savannah Voice Festival, an actress who has signed on with the ASK International Music Festival, Berlin, and a winner of the Silver Award in the Bologna International Vocal Competition.
HU Yue plays “Dorabella” in the Central Conservatory of Music’s production of Mozart’s opera Così fan tutte, Cinderella” in the Central Conservatory of Music’s production of Rossini’s opera Cinderella.
MA Guoyi as Messenger
MA Guoyi has appeared in the NCPA operas Die Lustige Witwe (Cascada), La Traviata (Gastone), Turandot (Emperor) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Apprentice).
MA Guoyi is a baritone, and he was selected for the NCPA’s First Georg Solti Young Singer Training Programme in 2016. That same year, he was sent to Canada for practice and study as an ambassador of exchange with the “21st Century” Opera House, Montreal. In 2017, he went to Italy to study for a master’s degree. In 2020, he was awarded the “Diploma of Honour” by the President of the Conservatorio Arrigo Boito di Parma, graduating with the highest mark. MA Guoyi won the Third Prize in the Italian Singing Competition for “Young Artists”, the Special Prize in the "Magda Olivero” Singing Music, the Third Prize in the “Mattia Battistini” Singing Competition, the Character Award in the “Giuseppe di Stefano” Singing Competition and the Finalist Award in the 17th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2023. He has portrayed numerous classic operatic roles at many famous theatres including the NCPA, Kwangju Theatre, Bacau Theatre, Tirana Theatre, Teatro Regio di Parma and Teatro Comunale Modena. MA Guoyi has been featured in a number of Italian media and dailies, recognised as “the most promising young vocalist”.
NCPA Resident Opera Singers
NCPA Resident Opera Singers
Adhering NCPA's principle of “for the people, for art, for the world”, NCPA Resident Opera Singers have staged in a number of performances. They have co-performed nearly 60 operas in collaboration with renowned artists at home and abroad, including famous conductors Zubin Mehta, Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Chung Myung-whun, ZHANG Guoyong, LÜ Jia, YU Long, LI Xincao, ZHANG Yi; celebrated directors Francesca Zambello, Giancarlo Del Monaco, Elijah Moshinsky, Hugo De Anna, Gilbert Devereux, CHEN Xinyi, CAO Qijing, ZHANG Jigang, LIAO Xianghong, WANG Xiaoying, LI Liuyi, TIAN Qinxin, YI Liming, etc. They have performed in operas including The Long March, FANG Zhimin, Visitors on the Snow Mountain, Rickshaw Boy, The Ballad of Canal, LAN Huahua, Jinsha River, Aida, Le Nozze di Figaro, Simon Bocanegra, La Traviata, Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor, Roméo et Juliette, etc.
Besides performing in a number of opera performances, resident opera vocalists have been actively participating in activities such as concerts, education and outreach, contributing to the cultivation of Chinese opera audience and the popularization of refined art.
China NCPA Chorus
China NCPA Chorus
China NCPA Chorus was established on December 8, 2009. It is the resident chorus of the China National Centre for the Performing Arts. WU Lingfen, the famous conductor, serves as its chorus master. As the professional artistic performing group that belongs to the highest palace of performing arts in China, the chorus adheres to the NCPA’s guiding principle of "for the people, for art, for the world" and is recognized as a vigorous professional chorus with infinite potential.
As one of China’s leading choruses both in the opera and concert, the NCPA Chorus has participated in more than 60 Chinese and foreign operas produced by the NCPA such as
Xishi,
The Ballad of Canal,
The Red Guards on Honghu Lake,
Visitors on the Snow Mountain,
FANG Zhimin,
The Long March, The Daughter of the Party, Turandot,
Carmen,
La Traviata,
Der Fliegende Holländer, and
Aida. The chorus has also planned and performed in many large-scale vocal works and theme concerts including Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mahler’s Eighth Symphonies, Verdi’s
Requiem, and Concert to Commemorate the 110
th Anniversary of HUANG Zi’s Birth, opera concerts such as
William Tell,
Don Juan and so on
. By means of the concerts, the chorus have get high appraisals by the high artistic standard. The late conductor Lorin Maazel said, “It is a chorus of passion”; conductor Daniel Oren, who was excited after rehearsal, said, “This is the chorus that has the best sound I have ever heard. Young as they are, they are better than many of the choruses in Europe”; conductor
Antonio Pappano said, “This is a youthful and passionate chorus that has been well trained to sound wonderful and harmonious”; the world famous tenor Domingo once said, “I am honoured to cooperate with these gifted young artists”.
In addition, they were invited to participate in the Opening ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games music recording, The National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference 2024 & 2025 New Year Tea Party Performance and other major national cultural activities. The chorus has actively demonstrated their mission and responsibility.
The NCPA Chorus has made unremitting efforts and continuous pursuit in art, and has accumulated a series of representative songs with distinctive artistic style like
Take the Lead, The Moon Rises above the Island and so on
. They have commissioned the creation and adaptation of
The Sky-like Alashan,
Crescent Moon and other works have been loved and widely praised by the audience.
The journey of music is full of beauty and joy. The NCPA Chorus has gone through a glorious history of 16 years. The artists of the chorus devote their most vigorous and dynamic youth to the cause of opera and chorus. Looking forward to a new journey, the NCPA Chorus will continue to sing without forgetting the original intention.
The China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre Symphony Orchestra
The China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre Symphony Orchestra
The China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre Symphony Orchestra is a state-level professional orchestra that can date back to the Central Orchestra established when the Lu Xun Academy of Arts and Literature had its heyday in Yan’an.
Conceptually committed to combining Chinese elements with the Western and suiting both refined and popular taste, the Orchestra composes, stages, promotes and popularises symphonic music on the basis of traditional Chinese opera and dance drama music. The Orchestra has performed in many Chinese and foreign operas and dance dramas.
Absorbing on the world’s mainstream art stage, the Orchestra has given performances in many Asian, European, American and Oceanian countries and regions on invitation. With a strong sense of responsibility and mission and consummate professional skills, the Orchestra, which performs impeccably on sundry occasions, has received high praise from the audience and media. The Orchestra also shoulders the major mission of performing for the state.
Over the years, the Orchestra has cooperated many times with musicians including Seiji Ozawa, Chung Myung-Whun, SHAO En, LÜ Jia, LI Xincao, TANG Muhai, TAN Lihua, ZHANG Guoyong, ZHANG Yi, XIA Xiaotang, HUANG Yi, YUAN Ding, Domingo, YIN Xiumei, LIAO Changyong, Siqing Lu, CHEN Sa, and Dilber. According to many artists who have worked with the Orchestra, it is an energetic, experienced and highly-skilled orchestra.
The Orchestra is devoted to fusing different genres of Chinese music, belonging to different ethnic groups across China, together into various forms or multiple styles of music to tell the Chinese story, show the Chinese charm and spread the Chinese spirit through symphonic music. While keeping up with the times for cultural inheritance and innovation, the Orchestra is forging ahead on a new journey to render meritorious service in the new era. With a good social image and distinct characteristics, the Orchestra is ready to entertain the Chinese and foreign audiences with a greater deal of wonderful symphonic music.
*Please purchase tickets through authorized channels to avoid counterfeiting. Before completing your purchase, please verify the performance date, time, venue, and seat number carefully. Performance tickets are time-sensitive and limited in availability. Once a transaction has been completed, tickets are non-exchangeable, non-refundable and cannot be reissued if lost. Please double-check all ticketing details and securely retain your physical ticket or electronic order. If you are unable to attend due to personal reasons, please make your own arrangements regarding the use of your tickets. We appreciate your understanding as any inconvenience caused.
*The cast, programme, or other performance details are subject to change and shall be based on the live performance. In the event of major adjustments - such as changes to the performance date or lead cast - please refer to the official announcements issued by the NCPA and follow the relevant procedures as instructed.
*The NCPA opens 90 minutes before performances, and 60 minutes before art education lectures and similar events. Auditorium entry begins 45 minutes before performances. For all performances and events, the Northern entrance serves as the sole public entrance. Please ensure that ticket scanning and security screening are completed prior to entry, and allow sufficient time to avoid delays.
*Tickets must be retained in their original, intact condition. Admission will be denied for tickets lacking a stub, or bearing any alterations, obscured information, or defacement. Each ticket is valid for a single entry on the date of the performance. For certain performances, presentation of original valid identification documents is required. Admission will be granted only when the ticket information corresponds with the presented identification.
*Recommended admission height: 1.2 meters and above. Special provisions may apply to certain performances or events, as indicated on the corresponding ticketing page.
*All attendees are required to undergo security screening upon entry. Smoking and open flames are strictly prohibited within the NCPA premises. Prohibited items include, but not limited to, firearms and replicas, controlled knives, flammable or explosive substances, toxic or hazardous materials, corrosive substances, and radioactive materials. Any prohibited items discovered will be handed over to public security authorities.
*For safety and hygiene reasons, the NCPA does not provide storage services for food, beverages, or similar items. The following items are not permitted inside the NCPA: food and drinks, flags & banners, electronic cigarettes, power banks exceeding 20000mAh, flowers, recording or photography equipment, and oversized luggage.
*Attendees are requested to address appropriately. Admissions will be denied to individuals who are improperly attired or under the influence of alcohol.
*If you are late, please wait quietly in the audience waiting area. Entry will be permitted under the guidance of ushers during appropriate intermissions or between movements, and you are requested to take the nearest available seat with minimal disturbance. For concerts consisting of a single piece - either for the entire performance or a complete half - late arrivals and audience who leave midway will not be admitted.
*All attendees are requested to observe proper performance etiquette. Please keep quiet and remain seated throughout the entire performance. Mobile phones should be turned off or set to silent mode, and calls should not be made in the auditorium. Photography, audio, or video recording of the performance is strictly prohibited without prior permission. The use of flashlights, including phone flashlights, is not allowed.
* After the performance, please exit the auditoriums in an orderly manner. Loitering is discouraged.
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