It is not often that Sydney Opera House audiences are treated to over two hours of vocal music sung in Mandarin. Boasting some of the finest singers from the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, this Chinese Opera Gala began with a heartwarming baritone solo by Sun Yao accompanied by National China Opera pianist Li Dawei.  

Rather than the anticipated cacophony of Beijing or Cantonese opera as might have been interpreted by the concert title, what followed was a program of highly expressive contemporary Chinese art songs, a genre developed from the European art song and Lieder tradition. As art song flourished to suit the vocabulary of 19th to 20th century composers in Europe and the Anglophone world, this genre also gained a strong foothold amongst the intelligentsia and music lovers of modern China.  

Chinese Opera Gala performance in Hobart, September 24. Photo © Ausfeng Event Productions

The practice of drawing from poetry continued to the present day with classical Chinese texts set to music composed in western musical styles ranging from Schubert to Tchaikovsky and beyond. The predominant style in this evening’s...