Modern Chinese Opera

When talking about Chinese opera, people usually only think about Peking Opera at first. Yes, Peking Opera is one great cultural heritage in China; however, today we will talk about modern Chinese opera, which uses western musical traditions to tell Chinese stories. Today, we will listen to some music from some of these Chinese operas. Let's join our report Ning Yan to get started.

You are listening to a song named Anthem of Red Plums. This is from an opera based on a true story about a female hero Jiang Jie, who sacrificed her life for freedom and the revolution. In this song, the composer integrated musical elements from Sichuan folk music and the local opera. The lyrics in this song depict the spirit of the red plums to praise the honorable and heroic spirit of Jiang Jie, or sister Jiang.

The opera "Jiang Jie" was based on a true story about heroic Chinese communists in a non-fiction called Hong Yan. During the Chinese Liberation War period, these communists were imprisoned but they remained faithful and confident in the success of the revolution. Most of them sacrificed their lives for their revolutionary career. Their revolutionary spirit was called Hong Yan spirit and has encouraged generations to fight in face of difficulties.

This piece we are listening to is called Embroidering the Red Flag. When Jiang Jie and her friends heard the news that the People's Republic of China had been founded, she decided to make a national flag to express her loyalty for the country. Meanwhile, she also got the news of her own execution in the near future. In this piece, the composer tried to express Jiang Jie's complicated emotions, both of happiness for her country and the courage to sacrifice.

The song you are listening to is from a movie called Daughter of the Communist Party. In this movie, one female communist lost her life to protect her colleagues. For this opera, the composer used some musical elements from Shanxi folk music. This piece we are listening to is from the last set, which showed her confidence in the revolution