The stage is set
National Opera House begins enthralling audiences, becoming new cultural landmark in Beijing
The curtain was lifted on the China National Opera House as it opened its doors to the public on April 20, seven years after construction started in 2015.
Soaring to nearly 50 meters, with a total construction area covering some 41,000 square meters, it is located on the East Second Ring Road of the capital’s downtown, about 15 minutes’ drive from Tian’anmen Square and 2 kilometers away from the trendy Sanlitun area.
Outside the white-walled building, 18 columns give it a classical appearance. Inside, the horseshoeshaped auditorium is dominated by two colors, red and gold. Besides the main stage, the venue has a 150 sq m orchestra pit, around 1,000 seats from the first to the third floors, and 49 boxes in the balcony area from the fourth to the sixth floors. Cultural elements, such as a Chinese phoenix, an auspicious bird rising from the ashes, are liberally used in the theater’s design.
The chief designer is Sun Zonglie, who also masterminded Beijing’s Mei Lanfang Grand Theater, a popular venue on the West Second Ring Road, noted for staging traditional operas, such as Peking Opera.
Latest technology was deployed in construction of the new opera house. Scenery changes are done effortlessly thanks to five ancillary stages. All can rise, fall, and be adjusted thanks to 87 mechanical boom poles.
“Now I am standing on the stage of the new theater; it feels like a moment when a dream comes true,” said Liu Yunzhi, a renowned violinist, who is also president of the China National Opera House.
“The venue will become a new hub for people to gather and enjoy the artistry of opera,” said Liu, adding that the distance between the main stage and the audience members sitting in the row farthest away is less than 30 meters, which allows those sitting in any seat to feel immersed in the performance.
“It’s more than just a new landmark that you can only look at,” added Liu. “The building is always open to the public and offers art that people can enjoy.”
The opera house string quartet performed with tenor Li Shuang and soprano Guo Chengcheng at the theater’s opening.
“I’ve been performing with the China National Opera House for over two decades,” said Li. “We used to perform at different theaters in Beijing and now we finally have our own theater. I am excited. It will be our new home for rehearsals and performing.”
Founded in 1952, China National Opera House celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.
With the opening of the new theater, it hopes to present a series of shows running until June 5. However, due to the ongoing pandemic prevention measures, some performances and programs could be subject to postponement.
According to Liu, the company has produced more than 100 operas so far and toured worldwide. During the current month-long event, classic Western and original Chinese operas, as well as concerts, will be staged, displaying the company’s history and achievements over the past 70 years.
On May 1, the opening concert featured a program which included Ode to the Red Flag, composed by Lyu Qiming, arias from Chinese opera The White-Haired Girl, French composer Georges Bizet’s Carmen, and Italian
composer Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto. Liu performed the famous music piece Meditation from the opera Thais, composed by French composer Jules Massenet.
Five Chinese conductors, including 93-year-old Zheng Xiaoying, 83-yearold Chen Xieyang, and Yang Yang, music director and chief conductor of the China National Opera House, performed with the symphony orchestra, chorus and soloists of China National
Opera House at the opening concert.
Italian composer Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot was brought to China by the opera house in 1989, and in April 1990 the concert version debuted in Beijing. Since then, Turandot has become one of its most popular productions. From May 2 to 4, the opera was performed again, featuring soprano Sun Xiuwei and tenor Warren Mok in the leading roles.
The opera house will also celebrate its history with a concert on May 14 dedicated to original Chinese operas, with programs including arias from Chinese operas The White-Haired Girl, Liu Hulan and The Red Detachment of Women.
The history of the opera house dates back to the 1940s, when the Central Orchestra and the Lu Xun School of Arts premiered Brother and Sister Reclaiming Wasteland, combining Chinese folk songs and yangko (a popular folk dance form of Shaanxi province), in Yan’an, Shaanxi province, the former revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China. Artists of the Central Orchestra and the Lu Xun School of Arts were the founders of the China National Opera House.
In 1945, The White-Haired Girl premiered in Yan’an, becoming a sensation. It was the first Chinese opera composed after Chairman Mao Zedong’s speech at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art in 1942, and is regarded as a milestone in the development of Chinese opera.
From June 3 to 5, La Traviata by Verdi will be staged under the baton of conductors Yu Long and Yuan Ding. While this particular version of the opera, helmed by Italian director Gianfranco de Bosio, was premiered in 2001, back in 1956, La Traviata became the first Western opera that the China National Opera House performed. On Dec 24 that year, the company staged an all-Chinese production of it at Tianqiao Theater in Beijing, which was considered to be the very first Western opera performed on the Chinese mainland.
“I am thrilled to witness the historic day. I’ve been participating in the project from the very beginning and now our vision is fulfilled,” said Li Danyang, vice-president of the company, adding that development of the outdoor space is ongoing and will eventually offer coffee shops and restaurants, making the location a vibrant cultural hub.