KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- In a rehearsal room, the melody of the Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower, or Mo Li Hua in Chinese, tinged with an exotic charm, fills the air. Several young Chinese faces move among performers from Malaysia, Britain, Australia and other countries, repeatedly adjusting their positions, vocal delivery and movements.
This is Kuala Lumpur City Opera in Selangor, Malaysia. In recent days, three young students from the vocal music department of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music, majoring in bel canto, have been rehearsing alongside opera singers from several countries for Italian composer Giacomo Puccini's classic opera Turandot.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Turandot in Milan. Set in an imagined ancient China and incorporating Chinese musical elements including Jasmine Flower, the Western operatic classic will be staged in Kuala Lumpur in mid-to-late October. It will also mark the first time in 20 years that the opera returns to the Malaysian stage in a large-scale, full production.
"An environment like this provides us with rich and diverse opportunities for cultural exchange," said baritone Zhang Enrui, who plays Ping.
Speaking about his experience rehearsing with performers from different countries, Zhang said that his first experience taking part in an overseas opera production had given him a more tangible understanding of what it means to live in a "global village," while deepening his appreciation of cultural exchange and mutual understanding.
Turandot is a three-act opera adapted by Puccini from a fairy-tale play and was the final opera of his career. Set in an imagined ancient China, the story follows the romance between Princess Turandot and the Tartar prince Calaf. The opera is renowned for its sweeping orchestration, large-scale choral scenes and the iconic tenor aria Nessun dorma.
Over the past century, the work has been reinterpreted by artists around the world. For the young Chinese singers taking part in this production, performing Turandot offers an opportunity to explore the European artistic imagination of "China" from a century ago, while experiencing its local interpretation in Malaysia and bringing to it the perspectives and expression of young Chinese artists today.
Jin Junxian, who plays Pang, said that Turandot presents an "Eastern world" imagined by European artists in the early 20th century, while also incorporating distinctive elements of Chinese culture.
"For example, the melody of Jasmine Flower is very well known and truly distinctive," he said. "But today, as young Chinese people of the 21st century taking part in this production, we also hope to showcase the spirit and vitality of our generation."
To prepare for the production, the students had already undergone several rounds of intensive rehearsals in China. After arriving in Malaysia, however, they faced a new dimension to their work: performers from different countries have different interpretations of the characters, the music and even the movements on stage.
"Everyone has a different perspective, but art can serve as a bridge for communication," Jin said. Performers from different cultural backgrounds can shape their characters according to their own understanding while learning from one another's approaches, he said. "This kind of cultural exchange can deepen our understanding of the opera."
Han Longxi, the young Chinese singer playing Pong, has had a similar experience.
"I find it quite amazing. Music knows no borders," he said. Compared with some of the versions he had encountered previously, Malaysian performers approached certain characters in a livelier way, which made him realize that "there are other ways of presenting them."
The arrival of the young Chinese singers has also brought a fresh "chemistry" to the Malaysian performers. Gui Foo Chen, the Malaysian opera singer playing the male lead Calaf, said the production brings together performers of different nationalities, ages and professional backgrounds, including experienced singers as well as young students.
"I just heard them sing, and they really sang very well," he said, adding that he looked forward to seeing new sparks emerge as the different performers came together on stage.
The cross-border collaboration came about somewhat by chance. Danny Cheng Heng Siong, co-founder and executive producer of Kuala Lumpur City Opera, said the production team had faced casting challenges while preparing Turandot. Last year, he worked with Liu Gang, an associate professor at the Vocal Music Department of the Wuhan Conservatory of Music and a baritone singer. This led him to an idea: Why not use the opportunity to bring young Chinese singers into the production and combine opera with cultural exchange?
"I asked Professor Liu Gang whether he could select and train outstanding students to take on these roles and then bring them to Malaysia," Cheng said. The idea quickly received a positive response, eventually bringing three students from the Wuhan Conservatory of Music to Malaysia to take part in the production.
In his view, having a Chinese conservatory undertake the initial preparation before the young performers travel to Malaysia and integrate into the wider production is itself a form of cultural exchange built on professionalism and trust.
"Perhaps in the future, we could also send our young singers to China for exchanges," he said, expressing hope that the collaboration would serve as a starting point for more exchanges among young artists.
Back in the rehearsal room, the music continues and rehearsals go on. A century ago, Puccini drew inspiration from a melody from the distant East and incorporated Jasmine Flower into Turandot. A century later, several young singers from China are standing in a rehearsal room in Malaysia, joining artists from different countries in bringing the work to life.
"We hope the audience response will be enthusiastic. When the curtain finally rises, we hope audiences will see more than just the revival of a classic opera," Zhang Enrui said. As young Chinese singers, he said, they hope to "bring new energy" to the production and encourage more Malaysian audiences to enter the theatre and experience how opera performers from different countries come together to tell this story. ■
