China's high-level musical will make its debut in Shanghai in the latter half of the year, and the musical "Count of Monte Cristo" will once again perform in Beijing

From September 7th to 10th, the Chinese version of the large-scale musical "Count of Monte Cristo" produced by Beijing Performing Arts Group, Shanghai Cultural Square Theater Management Co., Ltd., and produced by Beijing Opera and Dance Theater, returned to the Beijing Tianqiao Art Center. As one of the performances of the 2023 "Great Drama in Beijing" exhibition season, the Chinese version of the musical "Count of Monte Cristo" has six performances, dedicated to the audience's immersive performance.

The Count of Monte Cristo returned to Marseille to hold a masquerade ball.

In just over two hours, the entire plot of the literary masterpiece "The Count of Monte Cristo" was portrayed, condensing the protagonist's tumultuous life. Characters such as Edmund and Mercedes seemed to emerge from the work, and all the audience accompanied them through laughter, separation, anger, hatred, confusion, and rebirth... The magnificent and varied dance scenes, stirring music performances, and ups and downs of the story plot, as well as the gorgeous and simple stage design, made the audience feel the dual shock of literary classics and musical art.

The Earl will sail again to Shanghai

With the Chinese version of the musical "Count of Monte Cristo" premiering again at the Beijing Tianqiao Art Center, its 2023 tour has also begun, and it will then move to Shanghai and Shenzhen. The Shanghai performance is scheduled for September 21-24. A-Yunga, Yu Yi, Ye Qisheng, Lou Yixiao, Xu Yao, Xu Lidong and other first-line Chinese musical actors have returned, continuing to bring a visual and auditory feast that combines sensory enjoyment and emotional immersion.

The young first mate Edmund, who is about to become a captain, falls in love with his beloved girl Mercedes at the port of Marseille.

The novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a representative work of the famous French writer Alexandre Dumas. The story plot is full of twists and turns, unexpected in every aspect, combined with clear and clear structure, vivid and powerful language, and flexible and witty dialogue, giving it a strong legendary color and strong artistic charm. The work expresses eternal literary themes such as betrayal and deception, sin and wealth, justice and revenge, hope and conscience, and almost gathers all the elements of popular novels, winning the love of readers as soon as it is published.

The Russian version of the musical "Count of Monte Cristo", adapted from this masterpiece, is considered a masterpiece of Russian musicals in terms of music, screenwriting, production, and performance. This musical premiered in 2008 and has been repeatedly performed on stage for over a decade, maintaining the record for the longest time a work of the same genre has been performed in Russia. In 2014, he also won the "Best Musical Award" at the 8th International Music Festival in Daegu, South Korea, which also demonstrated the love of Asian audiences for this work.

The Chinese version of the musical "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a heavyweight play produced by Beijing Opera and Dance Theater. It is produced by Ayunga, the head of the Beijing Opera and Dance Theater Music Troupe and a famous musical actor. The play is the first large-scale classic IP musical work introduced by the music troupe after its establishment. It is also a large-scale musical project focused on by Beijing Performing Arts Group to prosper the domestic performance market and develop the local musical industry, with a top-level strategic layout and comprehensive efforts in the musical sector.

When he returned, things changed and people changed, and his former lover was in great pain

The Chinese version of the musical "The Count of Monte Cristo" premiered on December 2-11, 2022 at the Shanghai Cultural Square. It has since performed nearly 30 times in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, ranking 42nd on the hot search list and 8th on the entertainment list. The main topic has a high reading volume of 570 million, a discussion volume of 675000, and a barley score of 9.0, receiving numerous recognition and praise.

Translation, choreography, and performance are all "sinicized"

Xu Dong, the Chinese executive director of the Chinese version of the musical "Count of Monte Cristo," stated that although the Chinese version of the play is produced based on the original Russian version and has a high degree of "reproduction" of the original work, it is not simply a reproduction of the original version, but a comprehensive transformation and improvement. In terms of translation, choreography, and performance, the Chinese version creators have all elevated the play to a more Chinese style.

The anger of revenge gathered in Edmund's heart

In terms of translation and arrangement, the musical "The Count of Monte Cristo" condensed the text information of the original work by 1.5 million words, dividing the first and second halves into two main themes: "injustice" and "revenge", and vividly portraying the protagonist Edmund's fate entanglement over the past 20 years. The difficulty and highlight of this drama lies in transforming this literary work into a catchy musical arrangement, while fully expressing the original plot through melody and lyrics.

Music Director Zhang Xiaozhen admitted that in the early stage of the production, due to the differences in language systems and pronunciations between Chinese and Russian, it took several months to do melody synthesis and lyric translation, trying to simplify the melody as much as possible in order to conform to the voice production and language habits of Chinese singing, and then communicating with the translation teacher. The actors auditioned and finally confirmed.

Zhang Xiaozhen said, "We have broken through the language barrier of the original version through repeated modifications and adaptation, making the translation of the play more in line with the aesthetic habits of Chinese audiences, and better showcasing the emotions that this work wants to convey. This may be the reason why many viewers find the Chinese version of music to sound better."

Mercedes vaguely sensed the origin of the "Count of Monte Cristo"

In terms of choreography, Chinese choreographer Shen Weiyu introduced that for the crew of "The Count of Monte Cristo", the most difficult part may be the dance part, because the Russian dance vocabulary and dance system are different from the usual training in China. The original dance is like modern ballet, with a more emphasis on strength. "But these challenges have also been overcome through the hard training of many excellent dancers and acrobats day after day. At the same time, during the process of adaptation and rehearsal, China and Russia have communicated and provided more dance vocabulary choices with Chinese style. For example, in the play's two person dance lift, after communication, the Russian side also believes that Chinese dance style can better showcase the dancers' body posture."

In terms of performance, the Chinese version of the musical "Count of Monte Cristo" brings together frontline Chinese musical actors. The lively performances and solid singing skills add a lot of color to this imported version. The brilliant presentation of the actors has deeply resonated with the fate of the characters in the play.

Dong Ning, Deputy General Manager of Beijing Performing Arts Group and Chief Producer of the Chinese version of the musical "The Count of Monte Cristo," said, "The successful localization of the classic musical" The Count of Monte Cristo, "demonstrates that the production and production strength of Chinese musicals can compete with international standards, and also reflects our creative team's more professional practice and exploration of the entire industry chain in the field of Chinese musicals."

"Showcasing the High Level of Contemporary Chinese Musical Drama"

Professor and literary critic Huang Zongquan from the Central Conservatory of Music stated that the Chinese version of the musical "Count of Monte Cristo" showcases significant progress in contemporary Chinese musicals. He said that analyzing the structure of the entire drama can be divided into two major sections: "suffering" and "revenge".

In the "Adversity" section, the promising and happy First Officer Edmund Dantes was falsely accused and imprisoned for over 10 years on the occasion of his upcoming promotion to captain and his beloved daughter Mercedes' wedding. In prison, he met Father Faria by chance and escaped with his help. He used the clues provided by the priest to find the gold and silver treasures buried in Mount Christ.

Judge Villefort, who framed Edmund, went crazy.

In the "revenge" segment, Edmund, who had a huge wealth, returned to Marseille only to find that everything had changed. His former lover married his enemy, while the person who framed him lived a luxurious upper class life. Edmund was determined to launch a meticulous revenge plan as the Count of Monte Cristo... In the end, Fernand, Villefort, and others who framed him received the punishment they deserved.

"The design of this architecture cleverly focuses the entire plot on two scenes, prison and dance, which better meets the requirements of stage play," said Huang Zongquan.

In prison, Father Faria told Edmund about the gold and silver treasures buried in Monte Cristo.

Unlike many musicals that hire renowned composers to score music, the music composition for the Russian version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" was completed by composer Roman Ignatiev. Roman has a background in science and engineering, and also works in sculpture and painting. He is the leader of multiple rock music projects. Perhaps it is precisely because of his artistic experience that the play has a distinct "rock opera" color.

Huang Zongquan said that many aria like sections in the play belong to a typical rock music style, which is particularly evident in several important sections in the latter half of the work. The overall style of music appears simple and friendly, and the rock style of music also attracts young people. The portrayal of characters and scenes in music is highly effective, and the choir and ensemble passages are also quite impressive. The emphasis on singing has made melodic and lyrical elements a major highlight of the play. Perhaps it is the catchy singing that has repeatedly conquered ordinary audiences.

Fernand's son and Villefort's daughter are incredulous of their father's once despicable actions.

"The Chinese version of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' showcases the overall strength of contemporary Chinese musical actors and the production level of domestic musicals." Huang Zongquan said that by examining the musicals performed in China in recent years, whether they are original local works or classic repetitions, it is clear that domestic musical actors have made significant progress in their overall singing and performance abilities. The Chinese version of "The Count of Monte Cristo" provides another example. The actors of the play, whether the protagonist or the supporting role, have demonstrated good singing skills and strong performance ability.