The future of opera could be in China
Most of us think of opera as a traditionally Western art. Historically, the best composers wrote in French, Italian, German or English – until now. Over the past decade, the Chinese government has devoted millions to new opera houses, opera festivals and music education. The Chinese investment in opera has piqued the interest of classical music students here in the U.S., where budget-cutting has sapped funding for the arts. We’re speaking with Hao Jiang Tian, an experienced opera singer who was born in China and trained in the U.S. Tian is the director of “I Sing Beijing,” a program that brings American and European opera students to China for training in Chinese language and opera. We’re also talking with Kurt Kanazawa, an American opera student and participant in the “I Sing Beijing” program.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.