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Original Chinese musical Turandot gets a boost from top international production team

Print Share Updated: 2019-05-15 09:57

The copyright signing ceremony of the original Chinese musical Turandot was held in the Palace Museum in Beijing on May 13.

This signing ceremony marked the official cooperation between the One World Culture Communication, a subsidiary company of the CPAA Theaters, with Riccardo Cocciante, an Italian composer of great renown. The added collaborative strength will without any doubt create a Chinese Turandot that will attract worldwide attention.

The musical was produced by the CAEG, sponsored by the CPAA Theaters, and made by One World Culture Communication. The artwork was jointly-produced by Beijing Cultural Center Fund (BCCF), a subsidiary company of Beijing Cultural Investment Development Group Co Ltd.

Xiang Xiaowei, the minister-counselor of International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Li Jinsheng, the Party secretary and chairman of China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd (CAEG), Franco Amadei, the cultural counselor of the Italian embassy in China, Xu Ning, the deputy director of the China National Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, as well as the production team of Turandot attended the event.

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The copyright signing ceremony of Turandot in the Palace Museum

With Chinas musical market developing by leaps and bounds in recent years, the audiences have higher demands for quality productions, Chairman Li Jinsheng pointed out at the ceremony. In light of this trend, the producers of Turandot had actively sought cooperative opportunities with world-famous artists and finally selected Riccardo Cocciante, who is known for the French musical Notre-Dame de Paris, and decided to cooperate with the Italian team to create a true musical masterpiece.

Turandot was adapted from the famous Arab folktale Turandokht, which tells a love story about princess Turandot of ancient Chinas Yuan Dynasty. The musical was created by a world-leading production team through utmost efforts. Riccardo Cocciante devoted much of his love to this work and spent nearly ten years on composing its music.

Besides Riccardo Cocciante, the foreign production team also include songwriter Chen Su, chairman of the Centre d’Echanges Culturels et Artistiques franco-chinois (CECAI), director and choreographer Micha Van Hoecke, choreographer and art coordinator of the Palermo Opera and Dance Company, ballet director of the Roman Theater, the light designer Jacques Rouveyrollis, chief designer of the Eiffel Tower Light Show to mark the tower's 120th anniversary, and costume designer Gabriella Pescucci, who won the Oscar for Best Costume Design for the 1993 film The Age of Innocence.

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Italian composer Riccardo Cocciante gives a piano performance at the ceremony.

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Director and choreographer Micha Van Hoecke gives an interview at the ceremony.

"Weve invited foreign expert teams to collaborate in creating Turandot since its a musical, an artistic form imported from abroad, therefore they certainly have richer experience than we do, chairman Li said.

During the state visit to Italy in March this year, President Xi Jinping pointed out that both China and Italy were ancient civilizations with splendid culture, and the relationship between the two countries was built on a profound historical heritage. As an outstanding fruit of the two countries artists, Turandot was also an embodiment of Sino-Italian cultural exchange and deep cooperation.

Chinese musical Turandot will launch its national tour in May 2020. Hereafter, the team will carry out a five-year performance plan relying on the platforms of the Silk Road International League of Theatres (SRILT) and subsidiaries of the CPAA Theaters.