Chinese opera staged in the Solti Hall

The dressing room of the Solti Hall were filled with colourful traditional Chinese costumes, which were to be worn during the Budapest performance of the opera presenting episodes from the life of the Chinese writer, Tang Xianzu.  The young artists from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music had brought a historical work written by a contemporary Chinese composer, Xu Jianqiang, to the Budapest audience.

The President of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Dr Andrea Vigh and the Vice-President of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Liao Chang Yong, welcomed the musicians and the audience at the opening ceremony of the fifth Opera Exam Festival.

Chang Yong Liao, the Vice-rector of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and Dr. Andrea Vigh rector (Photo: Liszt Academy / Gábor Valuska)

The President of the Liszt Academy, Dr Andrea Vigh kicked off her opening address saying that „the organisation of this festival – which we can now regard as traditional – means a special thrill to us”, adding that the event series does not only provide the selected vocal students with the opportunity to participate in a superb international production series, but it also gives local opera-lovers the chance to enjoy singular performances.

The Vice-President of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Liao Chang Yong, also on stage at the Festival’s opening performance, related that the two music universities had signed a collaboration agreement last year, the Liszt Academy being represented by its Vice-President, Gyula Fekete.  The Shanghai Conservatory, which is one of the oldest Chinese higher education institutions providing musical training, considers the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music a key collaboration partner, which regularly sends students and academics to Shanghai.

The singers of the opera at the backtstage (Photo: Liszt Academy / Gábor Valuska)

The singers and orchestra musicians of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music boasting a student community of 2400 students had prepared a traditional piece for the Opera Exam Festival, which stages some uplifting episodes from the life of one of the most famous playwrights in Chinese history, a contemporary of Shakespeare’s, Tang Xianzu. Having retired from a career as a civil servant in 1598, Tang Xianzu dedicated himself entirely to writing.   The Peony Pavilion is considered his greatest masterpiece, which is also included in the collected volume of his works: Four dreams.  

The 2018 Opera Exam Festival was launched with the contemporary performance of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Tang Xianzu.  On 18 January, the Budapest audience will have the opportunity to welcome the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance performing Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium. The students of the Liszt Academy will enter the stage with an opera-patchwork focussing on the story of Armida, combining it with contemporary musical reflections. Following the Hungarian performance, the Opera Exam Festival will end on 28 January with Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia performed by the Dutch National Opera Academy.

The musicians and professors of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (Photo: Liszt Academy / Gábor Valuska)