France recognizes conductor with prestigious honor

The Shanghai Opera House was used to work primarily on Italian opera productions. Meanwhile, a few productions in German or French, the other two leading languages of classical opera, were performed at the opera house.

This changed significantly when Xu took over as its president as he made sure that vocal and diction classes were given at the company on a weekly basis.

These classes were uninterrupted even during the pandemic as the company resorted to holding them via internet conference.

In 2018, the company premiered a German production, Wagner's The Flying Dutchman at the Theater Erfurt in Germany.

That same year, the coproduction of Lehar's The Land of Smiles by the Shanghai Opera House and the Mupa Budapest was presented in Hungary to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary.

In 2019, Xu conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the opening concert of the China Night series at the Barbican Center in London. In the summer, he conducted opera Rabe's Diary in Berlin and in Vienna, Austria.

In addition to these classic pieces, the Shanghai Opera House has been actively exploring new possibilities with original Chinese opera, performing many Chinese operas including Thunderstorm, The Wager and dance drama Early Spring in February to critical acclaim.

Next year, the Shanghai Opera House will collaborate with the National Opera of Bavaria to debut Wagner's Lohengrin in Shanghai.

According to Xu, the international opera community has witnessed a rapid growth in China's audience for opera art, and has firm confidence for the Chinese market. This year, as China further lifted restrictions on cross-border travel, a new chapter for international communication will begin, he notes.

A native of Shanghai, Xu was born to a family of respected medical professionals. He started to play the piano at 3 years old and was, at 16, admitted to the Paris Conservatory in France.

During his time in France, he won first prize at the 34th Maria Canals International Piano Competition in Barcelona, and was awarded the top prize in piano by the conservatory upon graduation.

It was also at the Paris conservatory that he developed an interest in conducting.

Xu has since performed on the stage of the La Philharmonie de Paris, and conducted French masterpieces with the Orchestre de Paris.

In 2010, he was awarded the "Chevalier" of the Order of Arts and Letters, receiving the honor from the former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who praised him as "the best interpreter of French music in China".