Opera on poverty alleviation based on real life

As a national opera, the singing in The Road to Poverty Alleviation incorporates meticulously crafted music and lyrics. SONG YANKANG/FOR CHINA DAILY

An opera named The Road to Poverty Alleviation, which debuted at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing in October of last year, is based on the real experience of Huang Wenxiu, former Party secretary of Baini village, Leye county, Baise, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, who died while working on the front line of poverty alleviation.

Through the reproduction of Huang's deeds, the opera restores the struggle and glory of the country's poverty alleviation efforts.

Tian Qinxin, the opera's screenwriter and director as well as the deputy director of the National Theater of China, was touched by the story. Tian decided to pay tribute to China's first group of Party secretaries in once poverty-stricken areas.

The creation and arrangement process of the opera lasted two years.

In July 2018, artists from the National Art Academy organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism went to Baise to carry out creative activities.

They went to the front line of the fight against poverty, including 26 poverty alleviation points in seven Baise counties, to get a close experience.

The trip to Baise is an unforgettable "rush march" for Tian. She said the impression left on her was "beautiful and barren".

"A happy new life, and all these achievements are made by the poverty-alleviation cadres, little by little," she said.

"Huang's ordinary behavior produces a great personality."

Huang, a young woman from the Zhuang ethnic group, graduated from Beijing Normal University in 2016. She returned to her hometown and went into the rural grassroots to become the first Party secretary of Baini village.

In one year and two months, she visited more than 100 low-income households, and established three large files and diaries of the residents there, including pictures, personnel structure, family members, poverty level and possibility of change.

With the joint efforts of Huang and the two village committees, 88 of the 103 low-income households in Baini had been lifted out of poverty by the end of 2018.

The incidence of poverty dropped from 22.88 percent to 2.71 percent.

The opera's creative team decided to start a new creation with Huang as the main character. At a discussion meeting, the main creators agreed that they should bring the points to the surface.

"I want the audience to see that Huang is ordinary. Greatness comes about because we have seen these ordinary behaviors, which are characterized by selflessness," Tian said. "The rise from selflessness to a larger realm is a great personality."

Huang is an ordinary member of the country's over 2.9 million first Party secretaries.

When this young life stopped, she had no great achievements. But she always cared about people's life quality and the infrastructure in the region where she lived.

Behind Huang stood the first group of secretaries.

In the plot design, Tian is not limited to weaving Huang's personal life experience, but instead combines the work of multiple representative first secretaries learned about during the investigation stage to create a common image.

As a national opera, the singing in The Road to Poverty Alleviation incorporates meticulously crafted music and lyrics.

The melody is beautiful and catchy, with strong Guangxi characteristics. The melodious folk songs and national tunes help the characters in the play express their love for their hometown and determination to forge ahead.

Musical director and composer Yin Qing said: "We strive to adhere to the perfect unity of artistry and people's character, and extensively draw on folk music materials from the Baise area of Guangxi to adapt and innovate.

"The arias in the play are not just simple and good-sounding. It is more important to shock the soul, focusing on portraying the rich emotional world and lofty spiritual realm of Huang. The music of the entire play has a certain epic temperament."

As for lyrics that complement the music, lyric designer Song Xiaoming said: "The music and literature link of our crew is to speak human words, tell the truth, and reflect the positive aspects of the new era, so that the voice of The Road to Poverty Alleviation can fly into the masses."

The poverty alleviation depicted in the opera is not about the "scene", but rather the "people".

The biggest feeling that Guangxi brings to the creators is the families of people in the mountains.