operalab
The full version of Carmen Wong, complete with new score for chamber ensembles, was performed three times with three different casts at the Shenzhen School of Music.
This new version for five singers is set over two scenes and set in a bar. Carmen, Micäela and Mércedès are bargirls; Don José is a police officer who stumbles upon a criminal operation run by the gangster Escamillo.
The upcoming four performances from 31 December 2025 make bring this new adaptation of George Bizet’s first opera into its third year of lighting up the stage at the Guangzhou Opera House.
The Guangzhou Opera House closed added more performances of the world-premiere production in modern-day Laurette travels to a French fairy-tale where all her dreams come true. Marco Iannelli’ conducted his ‘s new scores includes original music featuring resettings of familiar French children’s songs, and additional music by Bizet from his other operas “Don Procopio” and “Carmen”.
In this world-premiere production, modern-day Laurette travels to a French fairy-tale where all her dreams come true. It has a new world-premiere arrangement by Marco Iannelli that includes original music featuring resettings of familiar French children’s songs, and additional music by Bizet from his other operas “Don Procopio” and “Carmen”.
Iannelli will conduct four special performances on 31 December 2024 and 1 January 2025.
For the Guangzhou Opera House, operalab reset Dr Miracle as a “fairy-tale opera”. Modern-day Laurette travels to a French fairy-tale where all her dreams come true. It has a new world-premiere arrangement by Marco Iannelli that includes original music featuring resettings of familiar French children’s songs, and additional music by Bizet from his other operas “Don Procopio” and “Carmen”.
According to Christophe Bagonneau, cultural attaché at the French Consulate in Guangzhou, “This year, Festival Croisements is celebrating in its own way the 60 years of diplomatic exchange between our two countries, and for this occasion it is taking the name ‘Croisements 60’. Born during the years of cross-fertilization between France and China, 2003 and 2004, what festival could, better than Croisements, commemorate these 60 years of cultural exchanges that have mutually enriched us.
“Bizet’s opérette, ‘Le Docteur miracle’, given this year by the Guangzhou Opera House, enriches the festival and is a fine example of this programming and of the cooperation between our two countries.”
According to producer Jenny Liang Lizhen: “‘Dr Miracle’ is the third immersive comic opera created by the Guangzhou Opera House. The production is supported by the French Consulate-General in Guangzhou and has been included in the culture programme celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and France. The Alliance Française of Guangzhou has also provided French language coaching.
“In this third iteration of our immersive comic opera programme, we also further explored how to make the opera popular with contemporary audiences and promote the modernization, popularization and popularization of the art of opera. We aim to create an opera suitable for audiences of all ages, incorporating elements such as children’s chorus and ballet to attract family audiences to appreciate it together. However, although we use methods close to contemporary people to create a lifelike opera scene, what we always want to convey is the essence of opera, so that the audience can feel the original and classical ‘no amplification, direct sound’ nature of operatic singing.
“This time, we selected outstanding young opera singers from all over China to provide growth opportunities and a platform for up-and-coming talent interested in engaging in opera careers. 35 actors and musicians have participated in this production.”
The original domestic rom-com “Le docteur Miracle” features everything that might be found in a modern musical or TV sit-com: a pretty teenage girl with a crush, parents that don’t listen, humorous misunderstandings, disguises, plots … and a happy ending.
For this production, “Dr Miracle” has been reset as a “fairy tale opera”. Modern-day Laurette travels to a French fairy-tale where all her dreams come true. It has a new world-premiere arrangement for chamber ensemble by Marco Iannelli that includes original music featuring resettings of familiar French children’s songs (including “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman” — better-known as “Twinkle, twinkle little star”, “Frère Jacques”, “Au claire de la lune” and “Alouette”) for soprano and children’s chorus which, says Iannelli, “add some fairy-tale sparkle”. The new arrangement also interpolates additional music by Bizet from his other operas “Don Procopio” and “Carmen”.
Iannelli continues: “By inserting French traditional tunes, and involving children, we open the gate to a fairy tale story that is quite far from the original ‘old’ opera. In my arrangement, I wanted to link this ‘new’ style (more magical and children-oriented) to the traditional operatic orchestral treatment. The last number, a new finale, is illustrative: starting with a magical lullaby, it melds almost naturally with themes from other arias, summing up not only the story, but the entire musical journey.”
The Guangzhou Opera House’s production of “Pomme d’Api” by Jacques Offenbach has been named as “Best Work of Theatre” and “Most Innovative Production” for 2023 in the most recent Guangdong provincial awards.
The population of Guangdong is 126 million, roughly similar to Japan, or that of Italy and France combined.
The Guangzhou Opera House traveled to Shanghai for two gala performances of “Pomme d’Api” at the Peninsula Hotel on 8-9 March 2024. The performances starred soprano Xing Xinyuan as Catherine, tenor Lin Junliang as Gustave, and baritone Song Luoyan as Rabastens. Chen Yiyan was the piano soloist while Jiang Yang conducted an chamber ensemble of musicians from Shanghai and Suchow orchestras.
The performance featured soprano Wang Xiaoqing as Catherine (Pomme d’Api), baritone Zhai Xiaohan as Rabastens and tenor Lu Yafei as Gustave, with Chen Yiyan as the pianist.
Pomme d’Api, which had a sold-out run from 30 June to 2 July 2023, returns to the Guangzhou Opera stage for six performances starting 29 September. These will be followed by two more performances of Rita, the hit opera that debuted in 2022. The performance on 5 October marks the 20th performance of this production.
On Sunday, 17 September 2023, the Guangzhou Opera House in cooperation with the Kirine cultural complex presented arias, duets and trios from their critically-acclaimed productions of Gaetano Donizetti’s Rita and Jacques Offenbach’s Pomme d’Api in a lakeside venue in Guangzhou’s South China National Botanical Garden. Performing were sopranos Wang Xiaoqing and Xing Xinyuan, baritones Zhai Xiaohan and Zhong Haodong and tenor Lu Yafei and Lin Junliang as Gustave.