Sino-French opera tells story of love and duty

Sino-French opera “Moon Girl of the Earth,” a joint project by Opéra National de Bordeaux and Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theater, made its debut at MixC Theater on the evening of Nov. 16. It brought the audience a new form of art combining the romantic French opera aria with dance by Chinese artists.

A scene from opera “Moon Girl of the Earth.” Photos by courtesy of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Administration of the Shenzhen Municipality

“It’s like a poem or a fable. It’s a new attempt and I hope Shenzhen audience can appreciate it like an intelligent child, to discover the interesting information that I hid underneath and to feel its internationalization,” Laurent Laffargue from France, director and scriptwriter of the opera, told the Shenzhen Daily before the performance started.

“Moon Girl of the Earth” is a stage fable about the seasons, love, jealousy, rituals and responsibility. In the opera, the sun and the moon love each other but they cannot be together due to their respective responsibilities. Their love story about reunion and separation unfolds with the four seasons of summer, autumn, winter and spring.

Antoine Foulon from France plays the sun.

Chen Yufei plays the moon.

Starting from the beginning of the opera, bright moons of different sizes were projected onto the on-stage hologram curtain. Dancers dressed in black walked, ran and danced in between. Chen Yufei, dressed in a white dress, played the moon and Antoine Foulon from France played the sun.

Laffargue said that the inspiration of the story came from daily life. “Over the past two years of the creation, we communicated with the Chinese side and embraced new inspirations every day. ‘Moon Girl of the Earth’ blends different art elements including dance, opera aria, drama and music.”

Production director Zhou Yongping said before the performance that “Moon Girl of the Earth” is not a traditional opera, but an opera combined with dance and poetry, which is easier for audience to grasp. “We wish a younger audience would come to the theater.”

Zhou is amazed by the young dancers, commenting that they are the best he has seen in Shenzhen and are the future of the city.

Recommended by the French embassy, renowned artists from France came to Shenzhen to cooperate with Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theater and created this modern stage piece. It not only stands for a communication and an exchange between French and Chinese cultures, but also marks a new cross-border event of the recently established Shenzhen theater.

The program was organized by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Administration of the Shenzhen Municipality and the Consulate General of France in Guangzhou.