On February 29th and March 1st, Eastern Time in the United States, conductor Yu Long conducted the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, teamed up with seven Chinese and foreign singers and the New York Philharmonic Chorus to perform the oratorio "Shanghai" at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. ! Shanghai! 》.
This 90-minute transnational joint masterpiece jointly commissioned by Long Yu, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, after its world premiere in Shanghai last November, came to the other side of the ocean to complete its U.S. premiere in early spring, in New York. It set off "Shanghai fever" and triggered discussions in many American media.
From Shanghai to New York, from the creative team to the participating artists and staff, "Shanghai!" Shanghai! 》Gathering people of different skin colors and backgrounds together to achieve artistic results.
New York performance scene. The photos of the performance in this article were all taken by chris lee.
Conductor Yu Long led the group to take the curtain call
Presented in a semi-stage format, the New York version is a bit different
"Shanghai!" Shanghai! "The background of "Shanghai" is during World War II. Although it was also suffering from the war, the city still opened its doors to tens of thousands of Jewish refugees with tolerance that transcended culture, race and belief. As the initiator of the project, Yu Long hopes to use music to write about the most precious kindness of human civilization. "The only unsinkable ship in this world is human kindness."
is different from the Shanghai World Premiere version. The New York version starts with Presented in a semi-stage format, in addition to the ups and downs of music, visual elements such as costumes, multimedia, and stage design are also added. Candlelight surrounds the stage, and the meandering Huangpu River bisects a custom-made oval screen in two. Shanghai landmarks such as the Bund and Longhua Temple, as well as scenes of Shanghai more than half a century ago, are displayed one by one.
Performance site
Stage director Mary explained the design ingenuity of the New York version, "Our goal is to spatialize the work and 'migrate' the audience to Shanghai in the 1930s."
In order to dig out more historical details, the director team read a lot of Historical archives, seeing that Shanghai was known as the "Hollywood of the East" at that time, the film industry had kept pace with the world, and "Gone with the Wind" was also very popular in Shanghai. "I conceived Song Lina in the play as a movie fan with a dream. , there are references to "Gone with the Wind" in the magazines she reads and in the costume design. We strive to restore the vivid Shanghai of that era as much as possible."
still used the singer lineup from the Shanghai performance for its first show in New York, including Tenors Arnold Livingston Gass and Matthew White, sopranos Zhang Rose and Diana Newman, mezzo-sopranos Zhu Huiling, and bass-baritones Andrew Dewan and Shen Yang. In November last year, New Zealand musicians traveled thousands of miles to Shanghai to support the performance. Now, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's principal Liu Ming, principal cellist Zhu Lin, and principal double bass Qian Bowen have also traveled across the ocean to perform in New York.
《Shanghai! Shanghai! "'s composer Aaron Ziegelman, librettist Pulitzer Prize winner and playwright Mark Campbell and additional lyricist Brock Walsh also came to the New York premiere.
New York performance site
has set off Shanghai fever in New York. Many American media reported that
will be the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's "big show" at the beginning of 2024. "Shanghai!" Shanghai! "The American premiere of "Shanghai Fever" set off "Shanghai fever" in New York.
Many media such as the National Public Radio NPR, the Associated Press, and the authoritative classical music station WQXR have conducted in-depth discussions on the performance. The American Public Television Network PBS will also broadcast the grand performance throughout the United States.
A large poster in the public space of the David Geffen Concert Hall shares a series of supporting activities launched by New Ireland, including exhibitions and lectures such as "History in the Archives" and "Film Screenings and Discussions: Safe Havens in the Holocaust" , and also invited Jewish refugees who had lived in Shanghai and their descendants to share those years in Shanghai.
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Blumenthal, as a witness to this period of history, also came to the lecture before the concert on February 29. The 98-year-old man reviewed the details with more than 300 audience members again, "We will not We should forget that during the war years, the life of the people of Shanghai may have been worse than ours, but we were still accepted and lived together harmoniously."
borrowed from "Shanghai! Shanghai! " premiered, and through repeated memories and narrations, the little-known history of Shanghai became known to more people around the world. Many people were also impressed by the original intention and lofty intentions of this work, and were even more impressed by the city of Shanghai's contribution to the world. touched by his contribution.
Long Yu, the conductor at the conductor
, was like conducting the first performance in China and the United States, and was also responsible for the birth of the work. Yu Long, the music director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said, "I am very excited that the work that I and my dear friends have been working on for three years has finally come to an end. Presented to American audiences. My biggest wish is to give the city of Shanghai a particularly important gift to the world, and to be able to re-record this period of history. The music of the work is particularly moving, and I can feel the darkest moments of that year. We are proud of the civilization and kindness of this city, and are moved by the brilliance of humanity. This work profoundly interprets the meaning and value of a community with a shared future for mankind."
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Blumenthal Participate in a pre-concert lecture
International Orchestra Relay, spread the city image of Shanghai globally
The goodwill shown by Shanghai in times of human crisis has made audiences in different regions of the world empathize, and also attracted the attention of international media. Shanghai's city image has, with the The dissemination of this period of history and the successive performances of works in China and the United States have become more vivid and full. When
premiered in Shanghai, Reuters, one of the world's four major news agencies, praised the work, "a tribute to the Chinese financial hub's feat of providing shelter to European Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai during the war in the late 1930s." ". The New York Times gave a full-page report on the world premiere of this work and was generous with its praise. The British Financial Times, Daily Express and many international media such as Israel, South Korea and Australia also reported on it.
As the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's third DG album, "Shanghai!" Shanghai! 》The digital version is also currently distributed globally. The Beijing International Music Festival (2024), the Deutsche Symphonie Orchestra Berlin (2024), the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (2025), the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2025) and other world-famous orchestras and music festivals will successively present this work. Let China’s voice echo on the world stage.
James Williams, general manager of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, said after listening to the Shanghai performance: "This work will definitely resonate with many London audiences from different cultures. This is a work that truly brings people together." . We look forward to bringing it to the London stage."
"The expression of the music itself has transcended the real historical scenes, the relationship types of interracial, father and daughter, brothers and sisters, through the house we share and through the window the window) reflects the empathy, compassion, and benevolence in human nature that transcend nationality, culture, and belief. In a chaotic world, temporary darkness cannot obscure people's yearning for light and longing for the future." After the Shanghai premiere. , commented a Chinese audience. The charm of
music lies in the emotional resonance that transcends language. After watching the performance, the New York audience was also amazed by the human love shown in the work. "The musicians used shocking music to introduce the tender story in the darkest period. Give it to the world. "
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