Chopin on stage

Source:Led b2b   Date:2011-3-21  close   Printing

Pianist Li Yundi will play in Chopin. (Photo: CFP)

By Xing Daiqi

BEIJING, June 4 -- With a unique combination of music, piano and theater, new stage production Chopin is preparing to open at Beijing`s Poly Theater from June 11 to 20 to mark the maestro`s 200th birthday, performers now busy putting the final touches on the work before its premiere.

"Maybe I can`t alter the destiny of Poland by myself, but I would rather die for her. I want the whole Europe to hear the sound of Poland from my music, to feel her strength through my fingertips. Poland can be defeated, but never be conquered. Outside the territory of Poland, I`m the image of her!"

As Polish composer and pianist Frederic Chopin`s (1810-1849) passionate Grande Polonaise echoed from the stage, actors in Chopin were busy rehearsing.

"I feel very lucky to be able to approach Chopin through the form of theater," exclaimed playwright Feng Daqing. "In the past, I was used to listening to Chopin through notes and the piano keyboard. The aim of theater is not to imitate, but to express Chopin through a recreated `reality` that helps people better understand this great musician."

Teaming up with a strong alternating cast from the National Theater of China and pianists Li Yundi and Nikodem Wojciechowski, Chopin`s signature works, Mazurka, Nocturne and Grande Polonaise are all part of the production.

The first Chinese pianist to win the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, Li was recently awarded the Glory Artist Medal from the Ministry of Culture of Poland, for his "brilliant performances and poetic interpretation of Chopin."

"I`m very happy to be part of this play, to observe the performance of stage actors so closely," Li said. "I will just be myself playing piano on the stage because I don`t have any training in theater and performance. However, I think that different art genres are all related in a way. This stage experience is an interesting experiment and will certainly have a positive effect on my interpretation of Chopin in the future."

Based on the 1945 film production A Song to Remember and Chopin, a biography by Arthur Hedley (1943), Feng`s Chopin follows the musician`s life, living in exile in France and the evolution of his music.

"The stage play focuses more on the crucial episodes that mark the turning points of Chopin`s music career and personal growth," Chopin director Wang Xiaoying told the Global Times.