Harmonious Night, Beautiful Singing

An 80-member Chinese delegation consisting of the Red Star Chorus and reporters arrived in Singapore on March 1 for a performance tour. It was headed by Li Yonglong， Political Commissar of the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Arts with the famous tenor Li Shuangjiang as art director.

Coming from snow-bound， freezing North China， the delegation was greeted by tropical weather and engulfed in a warm reception comprised of smiling faces， applause， flowers and welcoming banners.

Many members of the chorus were first-time visitors to Singapore， but they had already heard a great deal about the “Lion City” renowned for its highly harmonious society. They were first impressed by the good environment—blossoming flowers lining the streets， verdant lawns and luxuriant trees growing everywhere.

When we told our Singaporean friends our admiration of the city’s environment， they said building a harmonious society has always remained an ideal pursued by the local people. This harmony was exemplified by the performance on March 3.

Big red lanterns hung high outside the Singapore Conference Hall that evening as the curtain rose on the concert by the Red Star Chorus.

My Motherland and Me and Oh， the Sea Is My Hometown， the familiar melodies and the touching choruses of the first two songs immediately evoked a great response from the audience and brought the two peoples closer together. The songs that followed such as Road to Heaven， A Glass of Mellow Wine， Love Song of the Xiajiang River and Jasmine Flower provided the audience with both musical enjoyment and a taste of the long and glamorous Chinese culture and the happy life led by all ethnic groups in China. The singing of The Soldier’s Song， Dies Irae， Tuba Mirum， etc. showed the superb performance skills and impressive vigor of the Red Star Chorus. When it sang a Malay folk song in perfect Malay， a wave of thunderous applause broke out in the concert hall， and some audience hummed and kept time to the singing. Roar， Yellow River! jointly performed by the Chinese and Singaporean choruses with supreme power and grandeur expressed the unyielding spirit of all people of Chinese origin. The solos such as My Motherland， Ode to the Yellow River， My Deep Love Waits for You and Singing with the Drum Beats， showed the unique grace and artistic charm of Chinese vocalists. Li Shuangjiang， the famous tenor was called several times for an encore by the audience so that he sang five songs in total including Joyous Sunrise， The Girl from Dabancheng， O Sole Mio and Night on the Prairie. The concert ended in the chorus of On the Field of Hope by all the Chinese and Singaporean performers. There was a standing ovation and tears welled up in the eyes of many people present.

Poh Choon Ann， Honorary President of the Choral Association and the Association of Composers of Singapore， said the Red Star Chorus was the largest Chinese art troupe ever to visit Singapore as far as he could remember. The performance was a great impetus to the development of music especially chorus in Singapore. The event not only showed the profound friendship between the people of the two countries， but also highlighted the all-dimensional and multi-level cooperation and mutual trust between the two countries in the fields of culture as well as economy and trade. It had special significance for the art circles of Singapore and China.

As Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Zhang Xiaokang observed， the fascinating performance by the Red Star Chorus gave people artistic enjoyment and left them beautiful memories， and served as a wonderful start of the celebrations for the forthcoming 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Singapore.

The delegation made the visit at the invitation of the Bel Canto Philharmonic Society of Singapore with the active coordination and arrangement by the CPAFFC.