Project

SUN YAT-SEN
Music by Huang Ruo
Libretto by Candice Chong

About Sun Yat-sen

SUN YAT-SEN is a grand opera in three acts about Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, the founding father of modern China, in the tumultuous time of the Xinhai Revolution, which overthrew the last of the Chinese imperial dynasty. More than just a work on the revolutionary movement itself, the opera also deals with the personal journeys and sacrifices that Dr. Sun and his compatriots had to make in their efforts to reach their goals for nationhood.

Commissioned by Opera Hong Kong and the Hong Kong government to celebrate the 100th-year-anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution, this two-hour work is being composed and developed by composer Huang Ruo and librettist Candice Chong in both English and Mandarin versions. It will be orchestrated for both Western-style orchestras, supplemented by traditional Chinese instruments (Sheng, Chinese mouth-organ; Zheng, Chinese zither; and Pipa, Chinese lute) and for Chinese orchestras featuring Chinese instruments only.

WATCH

Short documentary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

About the Creators

HUANG RUO (composer)
Recently awarded First Prize by the prestigious Luxembourg International Composition Prize, Huang Ruo has been cited by the New Yorker as “one of the most intriguing of the new crop of Asian-American composers.” His vibrant and inventive musical voice draws equal inspiration from Chinese folk, Western avant-garde, rock, and jazz to create a seamless, organic integration using a compositional technique he calls "dimensionalism." Huang Ruo’s writing spans from orchestra, chamber music, opera, theater, and modern dance, to sound installation, multi-media, experimental improvisation, folk rock, and film. Ensembles who have premiered and performed his music include the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Asko Ensemble, Nieuw Ensemble, Quatuor Diotima, and Dutch Vocal Laboratory, and under conductors such as Wolfgang Sawallisch, James Conlon, Dennis Russell Davies, Ed Spanjaard, Xian Zhang, and Ilan Volkov. www.huangruo.com

CANDICE CHONG (librettist)
Candice Chong has been involved with the Hong Kong theatre, programming, and entertainment industry since the year 2000 and has been part of such cultural institutions as the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and the Chung Ying Theater Company. She is an award-winning playwright and has had plenty of her work showcased in various theater festivals in Hong Kong. Some of her works have been translated and performed abroad, such as "The French Kiss," which was translated to English and performed in the United States at the Lark Theater in New York City.

AOP Presentations

Spring, 2011
South Oxford Space, Brooklyn, NY
Concert reading of scenes

Other Presentations

September 29 – October 2, 2011
Beijing National Centre for Performing Art
WORLD PREMIERE
Performed by the Chinese National Opera

October 13 – October 16, 2011
Hong Kong Cultural Center Theater
WORLD PREMIERE
10 Salisbury Road, Kowloon - 2734 2009
Performed by Opera Honk Kong
www.operahongkong.org

November 2011
EUROPEAN TOUR
Performed by Honk Kong Chinese Orchestra