September 2009 | By Martha Liao and Alice Lin
Friends, fans, and family of Metropolitan Opera principal soloist Hao Jiang Tian became part of the emotional performance of Tian’s one-man show about his life, “From Mao to the Met,” which was staged and videotaped for PBS at the Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College, on September 14. The multimedia performance is based on Tian’s memoir, Along the Roaring River: My Wild Ride from Mao to the Met, written with Lois B. Morris, who also co-wrote the show.
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Hao Jiang Tian sang a medly of arias, backed by life size cutouts portraying Tian in his favorite operatic roles. |
The special production is sponsored by the Committee of 100 and will be aired during the winter pledge drive of the public television network. C-100 has funded this production because it sees Tian’s extraordinary life as emblematic of the struggles and triumphs of Chinese immigrants in America and as an opportunity for the Committee to promote its mission to the American public.
As a teenager, Tian played the accordion in the Mao Zedong Propaganda Ensemble.
Unlike the opera singer’s usual performances, this one was filled with cameras: stage left and stage right, a few in the back, and one roving camera on high to catch both the performance and the audience response. On a couple of occasions, there were even retakes. Tian had to repeat some scenes at the request of the director, including those playing the accordion, which he had last done during the Cultural Revolution to entertain his factory-mates. As Tian told the audience, he hadn’t played the accordion in over 30 years. But his musicianship wasn’t the problem—the audio had failed. The cheering audience was thrilled to be treated to a do-over; throughout the hour-long show, they couldn’t get enough of Tian’s singing.
Tian, dressed in an elegant brown silk Chinese suit, revealed the story of his yuan–his fate–in song and story, the music and the woman that changed his life. The set featured archival footage of the Cultural Revolution, Tian’s family photos, flying banners, opera clips, posters, and props–including a vintage Chinese bicycle and Tian’s father’s military coat.
Was it the hand of fate that led to the arrest of Tian’s piano teacher at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution and freed the boy from the lessons he despised? Or was it adolescent hormones to which he responded when very pretty girls from the Mao Zedong Propaganda ensemble asked him to audition on the accordion? Inspired by their “beautiful smiles,” he picked out the tune to “The East Is Red” on an instrument he had never played before–and became a musician for life.
Tian takes a bow with the love of his life, his wife Martha Liao.
One of the most riveting moments of the show was Tian’s story of an encounter with Maestro Pavarotti. Tian had a small role alongside the Maestro in a performance at the Met in 1993. He waited for Pavarotti outside the dressing room. “Maestro, ten years ago I came from China. I had only $35 left in my pocket. My first night in this country I spent $8 for standing room here at the Met. I had never seen a real Western opera. And you, such a great singer, sang that night.” Pavarotti just walked by and said “si, si, bravo, bravo.” And Tian felt like a fool.
But during the curtain call at the end of the opera, Pavarotti grabbed Tian’s hand and took a bow with him.
Accompanying himself on accordion, guitar, and piano, Tian sang Chinese revolutionary songs, underground songs, a Russian love song, American folk songs (included “Red River Valley” in Chinese), “Danny Boy,” and, in the program’s touching finale, “Some Enchanted Evening,” accompanied by his wife, Martha Liao. The penultimate scene featured an impressive medley of Tian’s favorite opera roles, including King Phillip in Don Carlo, Mephistopheles in Faust, and Figaro from The Marriage of Figaro (sung in Chinese!), accompanied by Met assistant conductor Dennis Giauque.
The program will be broadcast nationwide between November 28 and December 13 (check PBS local listings for exact date and time).
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