Rickshaw Boy opera comes to life

Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily

The old capital, which in the original book was described as being "filthy, beautiful, decadent, bustling, chaotic, idle, lovable" (translated by Jean M. James 1979), is an important backdrop to the story. Previous adaptations, be it for a film, a drama or performances of Peking Opera, have all highlighted the typical Beijing flavor, from the dialect to customs.

But Guo's is an opera first, he says. The Beijing flavor is just a sauce for the big dish.

Although he had heard old Beijing ballads and folk melodies, he says a few folk songs don't make an opera. "Opera needs a wide range of arias, chorus, symphonic music, strong emotion and dramatic plot."

"The Rickshaw Boy is known for its Beijing style, but I think it depicts not only the fate of Beijingers but of all Chinese people at the time."

Born in southwestern Chongqing city in 1956, Guo started to learn the violin at 12 because his parents wanted him to stay at home instead of working in the countryside during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). At 16, Guo's talents fetched him a position at the Chongqing Song and Dance Company.

In the mid '70s, he came across records of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade, Alexander Borodin's In the Steppes of Central Asia and Dmitry Shostakovich's Symphony No 11. Hearing the Russian composers made Guo want to compose rather than be a violinist. He even traded his handwritten violin scores with other trainee musicians for composition books by Igor Sposobin and Korsakov.