Rickshaw Boy, the operatic opus magnum by Guo Wenjing, received its concert premiere last night at Qingdao People’s Hall.
The Qingdao Symphony Orchestra, joined by the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra Chorus, was conducted by Zhang Guoyong, music director of both ensembles. The performance also marked the closing of the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra’s 2025 season and coincided with the 60th anniversary of the death of Lao She, China’s pre-eminent novelist whose work inspired Guo’s opera.
A star-studded cast took part in the concert performance, notably soprano Zhou Xiaolin, tenor Han Peng, baritone Sun Li and bass Guan Zhijing.
Commissioned by Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts in 2014, Rickshaw Boy received its world premiere there the same year. A revised version was staged at the NCPA in 2015, followed by a tour in Italy, making it one of the few NCPA commissions to reach an international audience.
With its dark and bleak narrative and highly expressive musical language, the opera later fell out of favour after a change of leadership at the NCPA around 2016. The Qingdao concert therefore marked a significant return of Rickshaw Boy to the stage.
