Beijing Music Festival, from Wagner to Guo Wenjing

Conductor Long Yu founded the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) a decade ago, fueled by his passion for music and determination to see Beijing earn its place on the international scene. The 2008 festival brings scores of chamber concerts, symphonies and jazz sets. However, Long is especially excited to see more operas in this year’s lineup than in any previous year.

Long explained, “Chinese audiences have little chance to go abroad and see opera for themselves. We have to bring it to them.” He cites, for example, artists not usually performed in China like Wagner, Purcell, Puccini and Strauss, ”

Deutsche Oper Berlin (DOB) will perform Wagner’s Tannh?user. Long said, “As a former member of the company, this production is one of my favorites.” He also recommends other performances by DOB such as Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier and an Opera Gala that features pieces by Verdi, Wagner and Puccini to be held mid-festival. Long hopes that these performances will introduce new music traditions to Chinese audiences.

Long also points out that Chinese composers are equally important at BMF. “We give modern composers a chance to show their work and introduce themselves to the world.”

The featured Chinese opera of this year’s program is the Heroine Trilogy, a joint work between composer Guo Wenjing and playwright, director Li Liuyi. Both the director and composer hail from Sichuan and began collaborating on the project in 2003 at the thick of the SARS outbreak.

The three operas that make up the trilogy are based on legendary Chinese heroines. Long says the performance “turns traditional Peking Opera on its head” by setting the drama on a modern stage while still maintaining traditional Peking Opera movements and aesthetics.

Finally, the trilogy references traditional and contemporary Chinese theater in each opera and thereby comments on Chinese culture past and present.

Long is proud of BMF’s commitment to art and culture, both Chinese and international. “After 10 years, the Beijing Music Festival keeps its artistic principles and integrity while surviving in a commercial atmosphere. It caters to people who love art and links together cultural traditions from around the world.”

Anna Grace Carter