Chinese musicians release video opera to deliver hope

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on daily lives, Chinese musicians are taking measures to deliver messages about love and hope.

The China National Opera House released a 21-minute production, titled A Sunny Day, which is the first attempt by the company to produce a mini video opera.

With a five-member chamber music group, three major singers and a choir, musicians recorded from home and performed with a limited stage set arranged for the indoor video shoot.

"Because of the viral outbreak, our daily lives have been disturbed. Suddenly we all need to change our lives. I've been following the news about people fighting COVID-19, which impressed and touched me," says Liu Yunzhi, a well-known Chinese violinist, who is the president of the China National Opera House. He is the opera's composer.

"We've been thinking about expressing our respect and gratitude to people struggling against the virus. Opera is a complex art, which combines a variety of art forms. It's good at expressing emotions and portraying characters. We tried to tell a story, connecting people who have been through the outbreak and share mutual feelings."

"Given the stay-at-home circumstances, we decided to create a new form of operatic production: a mini one," adds Liu.

Since mid-February, Liu has been working with artists of the China National Opera House on the production. For about 20 days, Liu worked on composing it. He adds that the story told in the opera is based on real stories in the news.

One of the most memorable news items concerned an 87-year-old novel coronavirus patient watching a sunset with his doctor in Wuhan, Hubei province. The patient, Wang Xin, was admitted to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University on Feb 11 and had been taken care of by medical teams from Shanghai and Sichuan province who came to aid Hubei-the hardest hit area in the country.

The photo of Wang watching the sunset went viral, which inspired Liu.

Wang was discharged from hospital on April 7, and Liu learned that Wang was a violinist with the Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra.

During his treatment, Wang took his violin with him every day and played music in the hospital. When he left the hospital, Wang played the popular Chinese song, Farewell, which was adapted from Dreaming of Home and Mother composed by John Pond Ordway in the 19th century with lyrics written by Li Shutong (1880-1942), and dedicated it to the doctors and nurses.

"As a violinist myself, I was deeply touched by the scene. Music is what I do, so I understand it's the best way for a musician to express his gratitude," says Liu, who learned to play violin from a young age with his violinist father, a former concertmaster of the China National Symphony Orchestra.

With three scenes, the opera follows the conversation between a doctor and a patient, which is played by a couple, tenor Li Shuang and soprano Ruan Yuqun.

A scene in the opera shows the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, when people are suffering from emotions like shock, sorrow and fear. But with the chorus song, titled Fight, Fight, the battle between health workers and the virus intensifies.

In the opera, the virus is personified and its role is played by tenor Li Xiang. With the COVID-19 situation improving in China, the choir sings A Sunny Day, expressing gratitude to the heroes.

"Usually it takes one or two years to finish an operatic production because of the detailed elements that are involved in an opera. But we have a short amount of time, and it's difficult for us to get together to discuss it and do rehearsals," says Liu Jing, the scriptwriter of the opera.

"The first experiment of producing a mini opera and releasing it online was born out of the special situation. We've had a warm feedback from the audiences, who are embracing the new way of presenting opera and getting into opera through the mini production. It's a fresh experience for me personally."