Teaser

On August 31, 2013, the grand opera General Yue Fei made its world premiere in concert form at Xiamen University’s Science and Art Center, under the baton of Maestro Zheng Xiaoying. At the age of 84, the veteran conductor realized this unprecedented epic in Chinese operatic history, a collaboration between the Zheng Xiaoying Opera Center (then affiliated with Xiamen Institute of Technology) and the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra.

The performance video premiered on Douyin’s Livestreaming Stage in November 2022 and later aired on US Chinese Television Network and its official website, garnering rapturous acclaim from global audiences.

Cast

Zheng Xiaoying

Conductor

She Yue

Yue Fei

Yuan Lu

Yue Yun

Cao Ying

Wu Shuang

Creator

Professor Ma Mei, then Dean of the Vocal Department at Tianjin Conservatory of Music, attended the 2013 premiere and championed the opera’s educational value. Her advocacy secured support from the National Arts Fund, enabling a restaged production in 2015. Directed by Gao Song (a protégé of Zheng Xiaoying) and conducted again by Professor Zheng, General Yue Fei triumphed at Tianjin Grand Theatre and the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, marking a milestone in China’s operatic pedagogy and artistic innovation.