Tang Xianzu the Playwright in Concert

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https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2019/tang-xianzu-in-concert/?book=true

Date Reviewed: 05/04/2019

Review By Warren Wills

Some fifteen years ago, I lectured in music theatre at the prestigious beacon of progressive thought and action, the HKAPA. Many of local demonstrations and resistance to authoritarian Beijing rule originated at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. What was abundantly clear to me, was that set a task for students and staff alike, and they took it with boundless relish, and could carry out instruction with unrivalled vigor, passion and dedication. Get them to lead and innovate and they were like startled rabbits in headlights. It was pointed out to me that at any random time of the day, there are up to 30 million budding pianists practising away. From this humanitarian throng Lang Lang surfaced and led the charging pack of Chinese virtuosi.

The anomaly having been identified, it was only a matter of time for the Chinese to bridge the missing 400 years of absent Western musical evolution. As is the case with other aspects of China's belt and road socioeconomic policy, innovation in the arts are deemed as crucial in defining and showcasing the national character. Thus in art, cinema, music-theatre and opera a renaissance of tectonic proportions is emerging. In the last 6 months alone the prodigious talent that is Tan Dun, composer, conductor, librettist, all round resident genius, has had two extraordinary contemporary original works featured at the Hamer Hall, by the MSO.

Tonight, at the Melbourne Recital Centre, sitting as a conspicuous minority amongst an overwhelming Chinese demographic, a new star, to the West shone brightly. Xu Jianqiang, professor of Composition Department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, was the composer and driving force behind the world premiere of Tang, a modern day Chinese Opera for Eastern and Western audiences.

Xu is master traditionalist, innovator, technician, orchestrator and craftsmen. He wrote for full traditional Western orchestral forces, augmented by 5 or so indigenous Chinese instruments. The student orchestra under the sure handed, efficient and careful stewardship of conductor, Zhou Ke tackled this immense score with a steely determination. The singing/acting/dancing ensemble- all triple threats, and like the pit musos, all products of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, were made to work hard, covering dense operatic material, plenty of recitatif and shprechgesang, while dancing, acting, moving and driving Xu's audio landscape.

Xu's vision was enhanced by a libretto, the aesthetics and poetry of which, are beyond my scope of discussion here, as they were all in Mandarin, and my reading of the surtitled translation would hardly do the author justice. The libretto sat on a digital screen with a digital set which served the piece adequately as did the 16th century period costumes. Many of the leading voices were searing beautiful, elegant and effortlessly powerful.

This is a relatively new art form. And thus operatic etiquette was put to one side when each pause, vignette and moment was applauded enthusiastically by the audience. But this was more Figaro than Les Miserables. It was steeped in the history of Italian, German and Russian opera. Xu had huge sweep over orchestration, style, form, nuance, dynamics. At times lyricism leaning to Janacek, other times Russian folk influences, occasionally comic Gilbert and Sullivan homage. Sometimes we brazenly straddled the high wire between canto-pop and Les Miserables, at other times a knowledge of French impressionistic nuances was evident. But Xu's master touch and oriental fingerprints were everywhere, as constantly underpinning the score was the harmonic DNA of Chinese pentatonic traditional composition.

Whether this brave new world of artistic expression engages the Western audiences is a moot point, but consider the logistics, planning, finance and resources that go into bringing 150 personnel/students from Shanghai to Australia, simply to do 1 evening performance and 1 in Sydney. Like the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics, congratulations to all for the Grandeur.

Ironically, the piece is a product of China's authoritarian modern day total control Communist policy, yet beguiles us with a tale of 1590s Mingh Dynasty from Imperial China...and yes, there was the obligatory female fan dance. Spike Milligan once nuttily remarked, "The Russians are coming!" Make no mistake, the artistic landscape is also shifting, the Chinese are here.