Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, October 17th Title: “Music Messenger” Mo Hualun: Traveling all over the world and singing China
Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Min
He was born in Beijing and grew up in Hong KongKomiks, studying in the United States, and taking the stage in EuropeBabaylan; he was born with big eyes and high nose bridge, and had a “good voice” praised by Pavarotti; he knew Chinese, href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>KomiksEnglish, Italian, German, French and other languages; he put on makeup and sang opera, but he couldn’t hear the sound, and he couldn’t tell where he was.
Cinema Some people say he is an “international person”, and he says “I am 100% Chinese”.
He was willing to be a “music messenger” and consciously assumed the mission of promoting Chinese culture. The combination of “Three Tenors in China” (“Three Highs in China”) composed by Dai Yuqiang and Wei Song has been in the past 10 years and has performed all over the world.
He is the artistic director of the Hong Kong Opera House and tenor singer Mo Hualun. In July this year, he was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star Award by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
”Music does not distinguish between national boundaries. I hope the epidemic will pass as soon as possible. I can go to more countries and sing Chinese culture to the world.” He said.
A sentence awakened the Chinese heart
In the 1980s, Mo Hualun obtained a master’s degree in music from the Manhattan Conservatory of Music in New York, and went to Germany to apply for the Berlin Opera House. “The German examiner asked Babaylan where I came from, and I said from New York. He said, ‘No, where were you born?’ I said it was Beijing, China, and later in Hong Kong, he said, ‘Then you are Chinese.'” Mo Hualun said, “This sentence awakened me. Cinema I am Chinese. No matter where I go to the world, my roots are in China.”
The Berlin Opera House is one of the top ten opera houses in the world. Mo Hualun stood out from more than 400 candidates and passed the exam in one fell swoop. “Opera culture is a Western culture. As a Chinese, singing well is far from enough. You have to compare with others.Only when you sing well at home will you have a chance to give it to you. “He started from a young role, and gradually became the first Chinese protagonist of the Berlin Opera House. Since then, he has traveled to world-renowned opera houses, played roles in more than 60 operas, and won a place for the Chinese on the mainstream opera stage in the West.
In 1995, when Hong Kong was about to return to the motherland, Mo Hualun chose to return to Hong Kong to settle down, and gradually shifted his career focus to Asia, and later devoted himself to the mainland. The wanderer who had been abroad for many years returned to his motherland, and when he sang patriotic songs such as “I Love You China” and “My Motherland” in his mother tongue. When Cinema, I was always in a state of turmoil. On October 3, 2019, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the new Komiks, the “Three Highs of China” held a concert at the Hong Kong Cultural Center. At that time, Hong Kong was deeply involved in the “Amendment storm”, and the road was blocked by the police several times due to riots near the theater. What Mo Hualun did not think of was that the last return song “My Motherland and Me” that day became a chorus. “Everyone in the mainland knows this song, but he didn’t expect that Hong Kong audiences would sing it, and they sang it spontaneously. “He said, “In the most chaotic time in Hong Kong, we stood up and sang loudly, patriotism, Hong Kong and the motherland. “Recalling the situation that day, Mo Hualun is “very excited and very touched” to this day.
“Music is very powerful and can unite and unite people’s hearts. It is also the best tool to help us understand our motherland. “Mo Hualun said that patriotic music education in Hong Kong should start from primary school and kindergarten, and start from the simplest singing of the national anthem, “This is the most basic education of national conditions.”
Singing Chinese folk songs in bel canto
Telling Chinese culture in music language that Westerners can hear is a unique advantage of the “Three Highs in China”.
”The Three Highs in China have been named “China”, which has to some extent represented the national image. So from the beginning of ourThe mission is to promote Chinese culture on the international stage and express the cultural confidence of the Chinese nation. “Mo Hualun said.
Good music does not distinguish between national boundaries. They try to perform Chinese folk songs in bel canto singing that “Westerns can understand”. “Kangding Love Song”, “Jasmine Flower”, “In That Far Away Place”, “The Girl in Dazaka City”… has fascinated countless foreign audiences.
The “Three Highs in China” have performed more than a hundred shows around the world so far. “Half we sang are internationally familiar songs, and the other half are famous Chinese folk songs. “Mo Hualun said, “First sing their songs well, let them understand our professional standards, and then guide them to listen to us singing Chinese songs, which will be easy for them to accept. At the end of the performance, local audiences often stood up and ovated, saying that Chinese folk songs were so nice. ”
In November 2012, the “Three Highs in China” was invited to perform at the Royal Albert Concert Hall in London, England. “We sang “My Sun” first, and then sang “Fengyang Flower Drum”. The lyrics of this Anhui folk song are very interesting, such as “I can’t marry a good wife” and “a pair of big feet” and so on. Because of the English subtitles, the audience clapped their hands and laughed, and the audience burst into laughter. “Mo Hualun recalled the scene at that time, as if in front of him.
Queen Elizabeth II of England took the stage to meet the actors. “She liked Chinese folk songs very much, and she said, ‘You sang very well’. “Mo Hualun said, “The evening party that day brought together world-class performing stars. As representatives from China, we have the opportunity to promote Chinese culture. We are very proud. ”Komiks
”We are all from the Bay Area”
This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, the “Bay Area Rising Moon” 2021 Greater Bay Area Mid-Autumn Movie Music Gala was held in Shenzhen. Many celebrities from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong and Macao performed on the same stage, with star-studded praises. At the party, Mo Hualun participated in singing the two songs “My Chinese Heart” and “I hope people will last”.
”This is the first time to use the concept of the Greater Bay Area to make a party, and it is very meaningful. “Mo Hualun said, “We are all from the Bay Area. Babaylan sings songs related to the Greater Bay Area. Babaylan District connects everyone closely together.”
Talking about the development opportunities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for Hong Kong, Mo Hualun bluntly said that it is “too important.” He said: “Not to mention anything else, there are more than a dozen or twenty opera houses in the Greater Bay Area, and basically every city has them. This performance market alone is amazing.” On how to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the Hong Kong Opera House and other theaters in the Greater Bay Area, Mo Hualun specially discussed with relevant departments of the SAR government, hoping to “more cooperation that can be implemented to achieve resource sharing.”
The opera “Madam Butterfly”, produced by Mo Hualun, was recently staged in Hong Kong. On the day of the interview, KomiksMo Hualun greeted the starring actors from all over the world in the backstage. “The 10 leading actors have different nationalities. They come to Hong Kong to perform a classic Italian opera together, which is international cultural exchange.” Mo Hualun said, “Hong Kong has many institutional and mechanism conveniences, which is the advantage of ‘one country, two systems’. It should be cherished and utilized well, and to build a cultural brand.” Mo Hualun, who was just elected as a member of the Election Committee of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, has always paid attention to Hong Kong’s cultural construction. “If Hong Kong wants to become a truly world-class city, it must have a first-class culture, including first-class opera houses and first-class original works.”
In July this year, the National Arts Fund landed in Hong Kong and applied for the opening project to the Hong Kong art group for the first time. The Hong Kong performing arts industry is excited by it. Mo Hualun revealed that they are planning the first Cantonese version of the original opera “Rice Fragrance”, which tells the story of the three generations of the grandchildren of the Hong Kong rice shop in Cinema, who are working tirelessly for Cinema. They are currently applying for the National Art Fund to “make original works and create Hong Kong’s cultural brand. This is the way we need to go.”