Spanish tenor Placido Domingo and Chinese top female singer Song Zuying jointly presented a song entitled "The Flame of Love" at Sunday's Beijing Olympics closing ceremony, echoing the tender theme song "You and Me" at the opening ceremony.
"Tonight I will walk to your side/ I will fly with you/ With you soaring through the sky." The romantic and emotional lyrics alternated between Chinese and English reminded the 90,000 audience in the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest.
The Beijing Olympic Games theme song "You and Me" also comprises lines in both languages and was jointly performed by Chinese pop singer Liu Huan and British soprano Sarah Brightman.
Lasting about five minutes with twenty-two lines, "The Flame of Love" eulogizes the passion in love and "beautiful and boundless romance", with a flowing melody and exquisite lyrics.
"The Flame of Love" lauds the common love of the human being that goes beyond the boundary of nationality and civilization and "lights the fire in the heart" of all people alike, continuing the leitmotif of harmony and unity of the whole world enshrined in the theme song, but in a more passionate way.
When the emotional music was played, the whole stadium was lit into romance. Luminous props in the hands of more than 90,000 audience moved rhythmically.
The lyrics were created by Chinese writers Song Xiaoming and Yuan Yuan. While the music was produced by Chinese top composer Bian Liunian and Klaus Badelt of Germany, who co-produced the score to Hollywood box office hit "Gladiator".
Spanish operatic tenor Placido Domingo, born in 1941, is well known for his versatile and strong voice. Possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range, he is hailed as one of the world's three top class tenors, with Luciano Pavarotti, who died with cancer in 2007 and Jose Carreras, who also hails from Spain.
In 1968, Domingo's performance in the opera Adriana Lecouvreur, staged in New York Metropolitan Opera, was a great success. In 1974 and 1975, Domingo sang the role of Othello in Othello and the role of Aragon in Sicilian Vespers, two most difficult tenor roles in Verdi's operas.
Song Zuying, one of the best female singers in China and also bearer of the Beijing Olympic torch relay, was born in Guzhang County, Hunan Province in August 1966.
Song has won numerous prizes of various competitions for vocal music and performed in Europe, Australia, the United States, Canada and southeast Asia. In 2006, her CD "The Diva Goes to the Movies: A Centennial Celebration of Chinese Film Song" was nominated for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards in the category of Best Classical Crossover Album.
(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2008)