“Xi’er”’s foreign accent “White-Haired Girl” is chic

("Beijing Daily" Page 11 Date: August 28, 2012)

Foreign singers are rehearsing "Jasmine" Photographed by our reporter Li Jihui

(our reporter Li Hongyan)"How did Xi'er become like this?" "I won't die, I want to live!"

With piano accompaniment, a "foreign girl" with high-blonde hair and exquisite facial features sang an excerpt from the Chinese opera "The White-Haired Girl" in a melodious voice. The pronunciation of the lyrics is not standard, and you have to prick up your ears to hear it clearly, but her dedicated performance can make people hear the sadness in "Xi'er"'s heart.

This is a classroom at the w88 casino. 21 young Western singers from 6 countries are participating in the rehearsal of the second "I Sing Beijing - International Chinese Singing Project".

"Jasmine" is a chorus piece with three female singers leading the singing. The prelude sounded, and the vocal director reminded from the side: "Look more affectionately, look into the distance, as if you are seeing beautiful flowers..." The three female singers on the left and right stretched out their left and right arms respectively, as if looking into the distance affectionately. Within seconds they were giggling. They thought this "signature move of a Chinese folk singer" was a bit awkward. However, they soon returned to play.

Tonight, 21 foreign students and 10 Chinese students participating in the second "I w88 online casino Beijing" program will hold a "Concert of Chinese and Foreign Famous Dramas and Songs" at the National Center for the Performing Arts. Opening the program list, most of the repertoire is in Chinese. In addition to excerpts from the opera "The White-Haired Girl" and excerpts from the opera "Sister Jiang", there are also "Velvet Flowers", "On the Field of Hope", "Singing the Motherland", "Young Friends Come to Meet"...

These repertoires are familiar to the Chinese audience, but they are like a "book from heaven" to the "foreign-speaking" people, because almost all of them came to China for the first time and could not speak a word of Chinese, so they worked extra hard to rehearse. Briana, a beautiful black girl from the United States, will w88 online casino "Ode to Red Plum Blossoms". "I know that this song is selected from the Chinese opera "Sister Jiang", and I also know the story of Sister Jiang. She is amazing." Briana smiled slightly, showing her white teeth, and occasionally said a few Chinese words when she spoke, "It's my first time to come to China, and it's really difficult to learn Chinese for the first time, but I am still very happy to participate in this program, because it allows us to learn more about China and Chinese culture."

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Tian Haojiang: Looking forward to "foreign" bel canto singing opera in Chinese

“A friend of mine who worked in the factory in the early years said to me after listening to one of my concerts in Beijing, ‘You no longer need to think about how to develop upwards, but should think about how to develop downwards and take down the roots.’ I think what I am doing is to take down the roots.”

The temporary office of the second "I Sing Beijing - International Chinese Singing Project" is located in an office at the w88 casino, and every staff member is busy in an orderly manner. The rich bass of Tian Haojiang, a bass singer living in the United States, sounds from time to time. As the artistic director, he is busy organizing various matters related to the project.

In addition to performing 70 or 80 operas and concerts around the world every year, Tian Haojiang devotes almost all of his spare time to the "I w88 online casino Beijing" project. He said that he had found a new way to expand the influence of Chinese opera in the world.

Opera’s “one-way street” becomes a “two-way street”

"I have lived and worked overseas for 30 years. I went abroad to w88 online casino at first. At that time, the development of opera in China was very slow and difficult. There were only two or three operas performed in the country every year. Therefore, if you want to get in touch with Western opera, you must go abroad. It is a one-way street." Tian Haojiang said. But things are different now. The Western opera world has been affected by the global financial crisis, with a large number of opera houses closing or merging. "Competition is becoming more and more fierce, and there are fewer and fewer performances. The entire Western opera world is struggling."

Compared to the embarrassment of the West, the development of China's opera market has attracted much attention in recent years. In Tian Haojiang's words, Chinese opera has entered a period of great development. Modern Chinese opera has begun to become active on the Western opera stage. He feels that the "one-way street" should become a "two-way street" and is willing to make efforts for this prospect.

I don’t know when, but he began to have a vague idea in his mind: to invite Western singers to w88 online casino Chinese operas in Chinese so that Chinese elements can communicate with the world.

The opportunity came suddenly two years ago. In Washington, Tian Haojiang was invited to participate in a performance at the "National Chinese Language Conference", organized by two relevant organizations in the United States and China's Hanban. He also got to know the relevant person in charge of Hanban, and the United States expressed its willingness to support projects that promote Chinese culture. Tian Haojiang remembers, "Two months later, I returned to Beijing to perform. I quickly finalized the 'I w88 online casino Beijing' project with Hanban, and it was officially launched in January last year. Now that I think about it, it was a coincidence. An idea that had been in the works for so long was realized so quickly."

80-year-old Japanese lady donates to touch the team

In two editions, a total of 40 foreign young singers participated in the "I w88 online casino Beijing" program, all of whom stood out after three rounds of selection in Europe and the United States. "It has been 20 months since the program was launched in January last year. During this period, we spent 8 months to select singers around the world. In total, there were thousands of applicants from 15 countries and regions. In the end, the best ones were selected, including singers from famous opera houses such as the Genoa Opera House in Italy and the Zurich Opera House in Switzerland, as well as winners of international competitions." Tian Haojiang said.

Along with “enrollment” is the raising of funds. Singers participating in the "I w88 online casino Beijing" program receive full scholarships, and their one-month accommodation and round-trip expenses in Beijing are free of charge. It is understood that about two-thirds of the funds required for the project are supported by Hanban, and the remaining one-third is self-raised. The difficulties experienced during this period made Tian Haojiang quite emotional: "This is just a classical music training project, not a matter of making money. Many people have difficulty understanding our purpose, and they feel that they cannot see the results, so it is not easy to raise money. In the end, we still rely on the friendship we have accumulated over the years, such as the enthusiastic help of opera houses in New York, San Francisco, Houston and other places, as well as donations from some Sino-US friendly groups and individuals."

Tian Haojiang clearly remembers that before the opening of this year's "I w88 online casino Beijing" event, they received a letter from a Japanese-American woman in her 80s who donated US$2,000 to the "I w88 online casino Beijing" project. "I burst into tears when I read this letter. The old man suffered from cancer. She said that if she had not been in poor health and could not fly, she would have followed us to Beijing. She felt that this project was particularly meaningful."

Use music to resolve cultural “cognitive deficit”

After participating in the first "I w88 online casino Beijing" project, many young singers began to unconsciously assume the role of communicators. They would w88 online casino the Chinese repertoire they learned in some performances, which made Tian Haojiang feel particularly happy and gratified. "Actually, I think the greatest significance of this project is that it has changed the outlook on life of young Western singers and built a bridge between China and the West."

After living and performing overseas for so many years, Tian Haojiang’s biggest feeling is, “We know far more about the West than the West knows about us, and the ‘cognitive deficit’ is obvious.”

In order to let young singers understand China as fully as possible, the "I w88 online casino Beijing" plan deliberately implements a "Chinese and foreign mix" in arranging accommodation. Three people live in an apartment, two foreigners and one Chinese. Tian Haojiang’s idea is simple, “In this way, foreign singers can immerse themselves in Chinese language, music and culture. They can learn, communicate, and dialogue with each other, eat and travel together, and deepen communication and understanding.”

As the first training program to introduce Chinese as a singing language to Western singers, Tian Haojiang hopes that the "I w88 online casino Beijing" program can pave the way for Chinese modern opera to enter the Western mainstream music industry. "Chinese opera has great potential. Our next dream is to see a new Chinese contemporary opera, all starring Western singers." Photo by Xuejun

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