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, grew up in Hong Kong, studied in the United States, and appeared on the Cinema stage in Europe in Babaylan; he was born with big eyes and high nose bridge, and had a “good voice” praised by Pavarotti; he knew Chinese, English, Italian, German, French and other languages; href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Babaylan He put on makeup and sang opera, but he couldn’t hear the sound, and he couldn’t tell where he was.
Some people say he is an “international person”, and he says “I am 100% Chinese in the Komiks”.
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. Babaylan
”Music is not divided into national communities. I hope the epidemic will pass as soon as possible, and I can go to more countries and sing the Chinese culture to the world.” He said.
A sentence awakened the Chinese heart
In the 1980s, after obtaining a master’s degree in music from the Manhattan Conservatory of Music in New York, Mo Hualun went to Germany to apply for the Berlin Opera House. “The German examiner asked me where Komiks 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, I am Chinese, no matter where I go to the world, I Babaylan‘s 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, Komiks cannot be enough. You must sing much better than others to 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 Western opera stage.
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 the motherland, and when he sang “I Love You China” and “My Ancestor” in his mother tongue When it comes to patriotic songs such as “National” and Chinese folk songs, they are always in agitation.
On October 3, 2019, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China, 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 expect was that the last return song “My Motherland and Me” that day became a chorus of the whole audience. “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 still “very excited and very excited”. “Cinema is often moved by Komiks“. “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 national condition education.”
Singing Chinese folk songs in bel canto
Telling Chinese culture in the music language of Westerners that can be understood by Komiks is a unique advantage of the “Three Highs in China”.
> ”The ‘Three Highs of China’ are named ‘China’, which to some extent represents the national image. So from the beginning of its establishment, our 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 interpret Chinese folk songs using the bel canto singing method of “Western people can understand”. “Kangding Love Song”, “Jasmine Flower”, “In That Distant Place”, “The Girl in Dazaka Castle”… has fascinated countless foreign audiences.
The “Three Highs in China” have performed more than 100 times around the world so far. “Half we sing is internationally familiar song, and the other half is famous Chinese folk songs. Babaylan” said Mo Hualun, “Sing their songs first, let them understand our professional standards, and then guide them to listen to us singing Chinese songs, which is easy for them to accept. At the end of the performance, the local audience often stood up and applauded, saying that Chinese folk songs were so nice.”
In November 2012, the “Three Highs in China” was invited to perform at the Royal Albert 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’. 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.
After the performance, Queen Elizabeth II of England took the stage to meet the actors. “She likes Chinese folk songs very much. 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. I am very proud.”
”We are all from the Bay Area”
This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, the 2021 Greater Bay Area Mid-Autumn Moon” 2021 Greater Bay Area Mid-Autumn Moon Music Gala was held in Shenzhen. Many stars from the two sides, including the stars and the praises were buzzing. At the party, Mo Hualun participated in singing two songs: “My Chinese Heart” and “I hope people will last forever”.
”This is the first time to use the concept of the Greater Bay Area, and it makes sense.” Mo Hualun said, “We are all from the Bay Area, and we all sing with the Greater Bay AreaCinema‘s songs related to the Greater Bay Area closely link everyone.”
Talking about the development opportunities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for Hong Kong, Mo Hualun bluntly said that “it’s 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, Mo Hualun greeted the starring actors from various countries in the backstage. “The 10 leading nationalities are different. Laixiang Hong Kong performed a classic Italian opera together, which is an international cultural exchange.” Mo Hua said, href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>Cinema “Hong Kong has many institutional and mechanism conveniences, which is the advantage of ‘one country, two systems’. We should cherish and make good use of it to build our own 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 an open project to the Hong Kong art group for the first time, which was inspiring to the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Mo Hualun revealed that they are planning the first Cantonese version of the original song “Ri Xiang”, which tells the story of three generations of a Hong Kong rice shop who are working tirelessly for their dreams. 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.”