China Daily Global Edition (USA)
REVIVING TREASURED MEMORIES
A song and dance gala, which made its debut in 1964, will be staged at the GreatHall of the People to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the LongMarch. Chen Nan reports.
To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Long March, the historic song and dance gala The East Is Red will be staged at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Dec 24.
The song and dance extravaganza made its debut at the same venue in 1964, to mark the 15th anniversary of the founding ofNewChina. Ithad more than 3,000 performers and was watched by a full house led by late premier Zhou Enlai. Zhou was also the director of the gala.
The gala, which comprised 35 songs and 12 dance pieces, retraced modern China’s revolutionary path, including the Long March, a two-year tactical retreat by the Red Army to evade Kuomintang forces starting in 1934, and China’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).
Through the decades, the show has been staged many times featuring classic and new items, inspiring generations of Chinese with its revolutionary fervour and patriotic lyrics and dances.
The songs performed in the 1964 gala, such as East Is Red, Flying Over Daduhe River, LongMarch, Song of theGuerrilla, and Protecting Yellow River, have inspired legions over the years.
This time, more than 300 artists, including musicians from the Beijing Dance Drama & Opera, chorus of the China Musicians Association will perform in the gala.
Established artists who performed in the 1964 gala will join in the performance. They include tenors Li Guangxi, Liu Bingyi and soprano Deng Yuhua.
Lin Zhonghua, 85, who was the host of the 1964 gala, will also join in the new production. Besides playing host at the show, he will recite poems written by lateChairmanMao Zedong.
According to the gala’s director, Feng Qiusheng, the upcomingshowwill be faithful to the original version staged in 1964, including dance pieces, songs and poetry.
“The gala will bring back memories,” says Feng, who recalls that he watched the show in 1964 when he was 14.
“I can still remember the chorus performed in 1964. Hundreds of singers stood on a tall stage. It was a grand scene.”
Feng also says the gala is a response to the comment of Chinese President Xi Jinping urging artists to build confidence in Chinese culture, serve the people and create more inspiring and classical works.
“The gala not only brings back melodies but also carries forward the revolutionary spirit, which the gala embraced decades ago.
“For a young audience, it is a great experience to learn and get inspired by the past,” he says.
Another recalls the veteran 1964 gala who is Li Guangxi, an 88-year-old tenor, who is known for his performances inVerdi’s opera La Traviata, Soviet comic opera Arshin mal-alan and Chinese opera Red Flowers on Tianshan Mountain. He performedasong, Along Songhua River, in the 1964 gala.
He recalls it took him two months then to prepare for the show, but though the artists came from different parts of China and despite the large number of them involved the rehearsal process was very smooth.
“I was honored to perform at the show. Everyone, the artists and the staff members, took responsibility. The significance of the gala went beyond the singing and the dancing. It let people know the history of modern China, especially the revolution and the birth ofNewChina. It was also a great experience of teamwork,” says Li.
Soprano Deng Yuhua was also among the performers at the 1964 gala.
She was 22 then and performed a song, Long Lasting Friendship, which was written in 1962, and was based on the friendship between the Red Army soldiers and the Yi ethnic group during the Long March.
“I was very nervous because I did not feel I could perform with so many veteran artists on such a big occasion,” she recalls.
“But the experience life-changing.
“During my long career, I have performed the song many times, but I still feel touched whenever I sing it.” was