The China Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) opened its season with a thrilling concert version Turandot at Poly Theatre over the weekend, the first time since the orchestra was established in 2000.

The decision indicates CPO director Yu Long's firm steps to build an all-functional orchestra and hopefully stage a revival.

Over the past five seasons, the young CPO has produced many full-length operas including Guo Wenjing's Night Banquet (Ye Yian) and A Madman's Diary"(Kuangren Riji), Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet, the concert version of Carmen and the Magic Flute and others.

Yu also serves as artistic director for the annual Beijing Music Festival, which introduced classic and contemporary operas, such as Tosca, Lulu, Nabucco and Wagner's Ring Cycle since the festival started 1998.

However, in the past six years, the China National Opera House has performed only one original opera (Du Shiniang) and only a few performances of Carmen, La Traviata, Madame Butterfly and Tales of Hoffmann.

The CPO and Beijing Music Festival are now staging more operas in Beijing than the National Opera House.

"Opera is one of the important genres of the Western classic music, and as China's leading orchestra we have the responsibility to introduce more diversity of opera productions to the local audience," Yu told China Daily. "Yes, we are not an opera house, but we'd like to unite artists from all ways to promote opera in China. What's more, playing operas is a way to improve the orchestra's level.

"My players and I would like to challenge ourselves to play more of Puccini, Verdi or Wagner besides Beethoven and Tchaikovsky."

The CPO will also perform the concert version of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde next June under the baton of guest conductor Klaus Weise. The five-hour long opera will be scheduled to run from 3:30 pm to 10:00.

Tristan und Isolde was the most complex opera written in its time and remains one of the most intricate operatic masterpieces to this day.

Richard Strauss wrote: "Tristan und Isolde marked the end of all romanticism. Here the yearning of the entire 19th century is gathered in one focal point," indicating that it is a turning point not only in opera, but in Western art and music.

Wagner generated a complex score, because he wanted to create the feeling of extreme desire felt by the two main characters with music. He did this by avoiding and obscuring cadences, which typically allow the listener to separate various phrases, beginning points, and especially the end point of a piece or section of music.

In most operas and musicals, it is very clear when an aria, duet, chorus, overture, or other ensemble ends, but Wagner blurred these boundaries.

Yu believes that the China premiere of Tristan und Isolde will become another milestone in China's music and culture history after last year's debut of Ring Cycle. Yu Long's ambition to build an all-functional orchestra is not simply reflected in his fascination in opera.

He admitted the general condition for classic music in China is not favorable as people have turned to a variety of forms of entertainment.

"Most orchestras have to struggle to survive," he said, "and we had a very low period last year."

Insiders have pointed out that CPO suffered financial difficulty last season so some of the concerts were cancelled.

But he said the orchestra was overcoming the problem and it will try to present the best concerts and best season to music lovers.

The program brochure of the new season shows that Yu and his orchestra have overcome the hard time.

"Artistic achievement and concert-goers' response are always my priority," Yu said.

In the new season, the artistic director of CPO will also try ballet. In November, CPO will collaborate with the Ballet of La Scala Opera for three shows of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream.

Beside the opera and ballet, CPO will continue to perform classic symphonic works, its main job, in 2006-07 season, with more than 30 concerts.

The big names who will come to Beijing to collaborate with CPO include conductors Riccardo Muti, Pavel Kogan, Okko Kamu, Krzysztof Penderecki and Philippe Auguin, violinists Augustin Dumay, Renaud Capucon and Kyoko Takezawa, pianist Barry Douglas and soprano Renee Flaming,

In addition, Chinese musicians and Chinese works will also play a major part in the new season. The most wanted pianist Lang Lang, cellist Wang Jian and conductor/pianist Xu Zhong will all return to Beijing. Audience will also hear the Chinese-French composer Chen Qigang's concerto for orchestra and Chinese instruments Iris Devoilee and the world-known Butterfly Lovers composed by Chen Gang and He Zhanhao.

The season will end in a concert featuring the twin Heroes. One is Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life) and the other is Guo Wenjing's Hero.

"At first, I planned Beethoven's Hero to share the concert with that of Strauss," said Yu.

But he changed his idea. "I think Guo's Hero symphony is also a great piece and displays the similar power as Beethoven's. And Strauss' and Guo's in the same concert could be heard as a dialogue on the same theme between the Western and Chinese," Yu explained.

(China Daily September 4, 2006)