Huang Ruo on his New Operatic Work: Sun Yat-sen

The China Institute in America hosts Huang Ruo. He is recognized as "one of the most intriguing of the new crop of Asian-American composers."

Heralded by China Daily and selected by New York City Opera’s Vox: Contemporary American Opera Lab, 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 developed by composer Huang Ruo and librettist Candice Chong in both English and Mandarin. 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.

Acclaimed composer Huang Ruo was awarded First Place by the prestigious Luxembourg International Composition Prize in 2008 and has been cited by the New Yorker as “one of the most intriguing of the new crop of Asian-American composers.”

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Art Salon: The Culture of Contemporary Chinese Art
Intimate discussions with artists, curators, critics and art historians about contemporary Chinese art from the perspective of social and political contexts, the relationship between contemporary Chinese and Western culture, and the bridge between traditional and contemporary Chinese art. Past Art Salons are available on DVD in both English and Mandarin.