CULTURE

The Daughter of the Party

National Center for the Performing Arts Date: June 28-July 02,2023 Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts

The classic opera was produced and made its debut on stage in 1991 during celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.It is an important work on the theme of revolutionary history created in the 1990s and one of the most influential classic operas of China.The opera is adapted from the fllm of the same title that premiered in 1958.It has won numerous national art awards.Since its premiere in 1991,the opera has been staged hundreds oftimes,receiving widespread acclaim.The NCPA has produced a new effect of stage art for this opera on the basis of the premiere version.

Xian Xinghai

National Center for the Performing Arts and Ningbo Performance &Arts Group Date: June 29-July 02,2023 Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts

Composer Xian Xinghai’s life was transient but brilliant.He lived a noble life as a CPC member,growing into a musician for the people.His classic workThe Yellow River Cantatais a favorite for choreographers.The dance drama aims to present the story of Xian Xinghai with a contemporary art form featuring an orchestral narrative.

French Violinist Presents Beijing Audience with Classical Sonatas

French violinist Renaud Capucon delighted the Chinese audience with classical French sonatas at the National Center for the Performing Arts(NCPA) in Beijing on May 21.

The last stop of Capucon’s China tour,the performance saw him performing three classical pieces,namelyViolin Sonata in G Minorby Claude Debussy,Violin Sonata No.2 in G Majorby Maurice Ravel,and Cesar Franck’sViolin Sonata in A Major.

The violinist then surprised the audience with an encore of five pieces including Debussy’sClair de Lune.

Born in Chambery in 1976,Capucon is the recipient of several global music awards,and has performed with leading orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker,Vienna Philharmonic,and London Symphony Orchestra.

The concert was Capucon’s sixth performance at the NCPA.During an interview,he said it was good to see so many young Chinese people in the audience injecting vitality into the industry.

“I didn’t know much about Chinese works before.This time I came back to learn more,” he said.“Butterfly Lovers Violin Concertois one of the Chinese pieces I’d always wanted to perform.”

The performance comes as part of this year’s NCPA May Festival,which lasted from May 1 to 27.

The festival gathered performances of musicians from home and abroad,including Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder,who performed the complete collection of 32 Beethoven piano sonatas.The celebrated Chinese cellist Wang Jian also performed three of J.S.Bach’s six cello suites on the last day of the festival.

ON CHINESE MEDIA

The Power of National Computing Network

Oriental Outlook Issue 11,2023

China launched a project to build a national computing network in February 2022 to bridge the gap in computing resources of China’s eastern and western regions.It has built eight national computing hubs since then.

At present,the proportion of data centers in western China is steadily increasing,and the structure of China’s national computing power has been optimized and its computing power infrastructure has reached a world leading level.The massive amounts of data and the high-speed operation of intelligent computing centers are converging into a force that spurs the development of digital China.

Shanghai Exhibition Spotlights Exceptional Foreigners

The Shanghai Theatre Academy unveiled its Memory and Dream of a City exhibition on May 28,showcasing photos of statues of 50 foreigners to celebrate the city’s cultural connections and “international memories.”

The Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries reviewed 165 statues of 116 international celebrities in the city from 2018 to 2020 and presented a photo album based on their findings.

From that album,50 photographs of figures who have made significant cultural contributions to the city were chosen for display at the exhibition.

“This exhibition reveals the impressive array of statues of foreigners in Shanghai,confirming the city’s reputation as a welcoming and cooperative global metropolis,”said Tobias Biancone,secretary-general of the International Theatre Institute,which moved its headquarters from Paris to Shanghai in 2015.

China’s National Pavilion Opens at 2023 Venice Biennale

China’s National Pavilion at the 2023 Venice International Architecture Biennale opened on May 22 in northern Italy’s Venice,focusing on the changes and improvements of China’s architecture and habitat over the past 40 years.

The exhibition shows the artwork and concepts of Chinese designers that integrate residents and nature,and tradition with modernity.

According to Ruan Xing,curator of the pavilion,the exhibition aims to tell the story of China’s great achievements and wisdom in urban development,architecture,and residents’ lives,especially in improving livability over the past 40 years since the beginning of China’s reform and opening-up.

The China National Pavilion can be visited online and offline and will remain open to the public until November 26,2023.

China’s National Pavilion has been present at the Biennale since 2005.

State-Funded Venture Capital Investment

Exploring Traditional Villages

China Economic Weekly Issue 10,2023

After more than a decade of rapid development,the influence of government-guided funds at all levels is becoming signiflcant.With the supportive policies for “hard technology,”many regional governments are able to invest these funds in scientiflc and technological innovation to promote industrial upgrading and high-qualitydevelopment.

Insight China Issue 15,2023

Through years of much effort,China has reserved and revived a large amount of historical sites,traditional buildings,and intangible cultural heritage items.Many regional governments have integrated their resources to promote conservation.This has improved the living condi-tions of villagers,as well as revitalized traditional villages with new vitality.