Overview
Biography
Established in 1952, The China National Opera House is the national opera house directly under the Ministry of Culture of China. The predecessor of CNOH is the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of Yan’an and the art troupe of Luxun Art College, which created fold dance opera Brother and Sister Explorers in 1943 and White-Haired Girl in 1945 in Yan’an. Currently, CNOH is a distinctive opera house with a prominent scale and powerful artistic strength in Asia-Pacific.
CNOH consists of an opera troupe, a choir, a symphony orchestra and a stagecraft department, etc. The opera troupe gathers many outstanding opera performing artists, most of whom have won major competitions at home and abroad and are still active on the international stage. The Choir is quite influential in China. Most of its members are the best students graduated from leading conservatories of music and have received systematic training in music and vocal expressions. The choir performs various artworks ranging from distinctive Chinese and foreign operas to vocal masterpieces.The symphony orchestra is proficient in performing operatic music and receives huge popularity in China for its abundant repertoires. The stagecraft department is very strong in its field. In addition to the outstanding accomplishments for CNOH, the stagecraft team also participated in stage designs and productions of gala performances and events both domestically and internationally. CNOH is home to a team of prominent composers, conductors, directors, playwrights and stage designers. Successive presidents of CNOH include famous artists Li Bozhao, Zhou Weizhi, Lu Su, Zhao Feng, Ma Ke, Li Ling, Liu Lianchi, Wang Shiguang, Chen Xieyang and Liu Xijin. Well-known Conductor Professor Yu Feng serves as the current president.
Thanks to the persistent efforts of generations of artists over more than half a century, CNOH has debuted, staged and preserved a series of world renowned operas including La Traviata, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Eugene Onegin, Gianni Schicchi, Turandot, Aida, La Boheme, Rigoletto, La Nozzede Figaro, Othello, Cavalleria Rusticana, II Barbiere di Siviglia, I Pagliacci, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, II Trovatore, Le Roi d’Yis, Die Fledermaus,Tannhauser, Die Walküreand etc. CNOH has also built a strong repertoire of Chinese operas, including the White-Haired Girl, Liu Hulan, Song of Grassland, Ayiguli, The 100th Bride, Marco Polo, Du Shiniang, Farewell My Concubine, Countryside Girl Teacher, The Love Story of Rawap, Dream Forest, Nine chapters of Yindi, Revolution in 1911, Hongbang Tailor, etc.
CNOH is known for its international feature and openness and remains very active on the international stage. In the summer of 1988, at the invitation of the Savonlinna Opera Festival, CNOH visited Finland with astonishing presentation of Madam Butterfly, Carmen, Requiem (Verdi) and some Chinese musical pieces. In January 2008, CNOH toured San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, New York, Houston and Dallas in the United States for one month with Farewell My Concubine, an original operatic production. In October 2008, CNOH visited Egypt for the first time and performed Puccini’s Turandot in Cairo Opera House. In September of 2012, on the 60th anniversary of CNOH, Yu Feng led CNOH to visit Turkey and participated in the Opera & Ballet Festival in Aspendos where the Sino-Turkish artists jointly presented Madam Butterfly in the old Roman theatre. In the same month, Yu Feng together with 220 actors, actresses and other CNOH staff made their first performance in Italy, the hometown of opera. During the visit, which occurred during China’s traditional Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, Turandot was performed in public successfully at Auditorium Conciliazione located between Basilica di San Pietro of Vaticano and Castel Sant’Angelo. CNOH also paid frequent visits to Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao to stage operas.
After China’s opening up and reform, CNOH’has made remarkable progress in international art exchange, working extensively with a great number of world famous opera houses and artists. In 1986, CNOH collaborated successfully with famous tenor Luciano Pavarotti in staging the opera La Boheme. In 1999, it made a collaborative performance with eminent tenor Jose Carreras. In June 2001, the successful Three World Famous Tenors’Forbidden City Concert features CNOH’s collaboration with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. CNOH also had successful cooperation with world-famous artists like Montserrat Caballe, Jessye Norman, Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Jo Sumi, Marcello Giordani, Salvatore Licitra, Ramon Vargas, Dmitri hvorostovsky, Andrea Bocelli, Elena Rossi, Hayley Westenra, etc.
In 2009, CNOH launched its first International Opera Season, which put together a wonderful assemble of Chinese and foreign operas and music concerts. Among these programs, Turandot staged in the National Stadium of China (also known as bird nest) attracted over 100000 audiences within two days. Moreover, CNOH brought this opera to Taiwan and performed twice in Taizhong Baseball Stadium, which attracted more than 30 thousand people. The above successes help to develop more opera goers and fans in China.In 2010, the Chinese original opera Farewell My Concubine performed by CNOH won ‘Wenhua Prize’in the 9th China Art Festival. In addition, another Chinese original opera The love story of Rawap received an ‘Outstanding Opera Award’in the 1st Presentation of National Art Organizations of The Ministry of Culture.In 2011,as another new activity to benefit the public, CNOH organize a free open opera day at the Beijing Workers’Staduim, which was the first time that an art troupe gave the public free open opera. The open day attracted over 10000 audiences to appreciate the operas. In 2012, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of “the speech in the Yanan Forum on literature and art” given by Mao Zedong, CNOH held the second free open day and performed the Chinese original famous opera “the White-Haired Girl” in the Great Hall of the People, which received a good number of favorable reviews.
Following the principle of Serving the People and Socialism, and Let One Hundred Flowers Blossom, Let One Hundred Schools Contend, CNOH makes great effort in promoting opera in the society by bringing opera performances to villages, factories, schools and military camps.
For 60 years, CNOH never stops cultivating new talents and was rewarded with a continuously growing list of young artists, who repeatedly won prizes in domestic and international competitions, demonstrate high art level in international exchanges and earned favorable reputation for the country. As China’s national opera house in the 21st century, CNOH will continue to stand by its principle of openness and internationalization, and shoulder the responsibility of developing national culture and enhancing international culture exchange and cooperation.
