The bones of a good story

"I am very interested in the Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi and his philosophy has profound, and far-reaching influence on Chinese literature and art," says Wen. "The story of Resurrection of the Skeleton and how Lu Xun reimagined it intrigued me. The embarrassment of the gap between the enlightened and the ignorant, as well as the contradiction and conflict between ideals and reality, remains, and will always be, unresolved."

With satire and elements from the modern world, such as mobile phones, the opera brings a sense of humor, appealing to a contemporary audience, especially young people.

It took Wen about a month to write the script and over a year to compose the opera. As the closing production of the First Beijing Chamber Opera Festival, which was initiated by Yi, a veteran director, lighting and set designer, the opera features a 14-member orchestra playing under the baton of conductor Dong Chao.

"I am 65 years old and it's an age to consider life and death," says Wen when asked why he decided to adapt the story into an opera.

He also notes that Rising From the Dead is his second attempt to explore a philosophical subject. His debut opera, titled The Wager, which premiered 20 years ago, was based on the novel, A Gamble on a Snowy Night, by Gao Xiaosheng, which recounts a bet between a squire and a beggar on New Year's Eve.

Born in a small village of Fujian province, Wen studied erhu (a two-stringed bowed musical instrument) as a child. He began composing in the late 1970s. In 1987, he went to Beijing to study composition at the China Conservatory of Music, and his teachers included Luo Zhongrong (1924-2021) — an influential composer of modern music. In 1993, Wen began to study at the Conservatory of Geneva, Switzerland, as well as gaining more experience studying in France and the United States.

In 2017, he returned to China and joined the faculty of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he founded an annual modern music festival.

"Though it's a small-budget opera production, the audience get a glimpse of chamber opera, which is still new in the market," Wen says.

The costumes for the opera, which is contemporary, pioneering and breaks boundaries of cultures, was created by Yi.

Back in 2020, Yi established the Dahua City Art Theatre, which is located near the Chang'an Avenue in Beijing.

From October to December, it held the First Beijing Chamber Opera Festival, which featured eight chamber opera productions, including the opening presentation The Death of Oedipus, composed by Qu Xiaosong and directed by Yi, on Oct 6.

"Dahua City Art Theatre, unlike other venues for opera productions, is much smaller. However, it offers a sense of intimacy for the audience," says Yi, adding that the venue is located in the hutong area of nearby Dongdan, which has a large flow of people, making it easier to entice them to come inside and experience theater.

Yi also notes that the architectural design of the auditorium was inspired by the ancient Greek open-air amphitheaters, where the public could watch performances by sitting close to the stage.