On 21 December at the Henan Performing Arts Centre, the cantata Sister Jiang returned to the stage under the baton of Niu Chuang, with the Henan Symphony Orchestra. The title role was shared by soprano Jin Man, who first sang Sister Jiang in the original opera in 1984, and the younger soprano Song Lu. Tenors Dai Yuqiang and Mou Tianxiang alternated as Fu Zhigao, Jiang’s husband whose betrayal seals her fate.
The performance, produced by Jin Man Studio, marked a major milestone: 2025 is the 25th anniversary of Sister Jiang in its cantata form.
For Jin Man, the evening was not merely a commemorative revival but a reaffirmation of artistic principles she has defended for decades. Central among them is her insistence on Chinese bel canto singing without electronic amplification, a stance that sets her apart in a performance culture where microphones are often taken for granted.
“The human voice,” she has repeatedly argued, “must project through technique, not technology.” In Sister Jiang, this belief is inseparable from the work’s moral core. The heroine’s dignity, resolve and inner strength, Jin Man maintains, can only be fully conveyed through an unamplified voice that carries natural resonance, breath and colour across the hall.
Jin Man’s advocacy of bel canto is rooted in her own artistic formation. When she first sang Sister Jiang in 1984, the role demanded not only vocal power but also long, arching lines shaped by breath control and emotional restraint. These qualities, she believes, are diluted when amplification smooths out natural contrasts and reduces the singer’s responsibility for projection.
In the cantata version, performed in concert form without elaborate staging, the voice becomes even more exposed, making vocal technique and musical integrity paramount.
The decision to transform Sister Jiang from a fully staged opera into a cantata in 2020 was, in Jin Man’s words, both practical and aesthetic. The cantata strips away scenery, costumes and theatrical movement, shifting the focus to music and text. This change, she explains, allows the audience to engage more directly with the emotional and ideological substance of the work.
While the opera unfolds as a continuous drama with clearly defined scenes and interactions, the cantata emphasises reflection and narration, giving greater weight to choral writing and orchestral commentary. For Jin Man, this format also aligns naturally with her belief in the primacy of the voice and the score.
At the heart of both versions lies the story of Sister Jiang, a revolutionary figure whose courage has made her an enduring symbol in modern Chinese music theatre. Set against the backdrop of political repression, the opera traces her arrest, imprisonment and ultimate sacrifice. Betrayed by her husband Fu Zhigao, she refuses to renounce her ideals, even in the face of torture and death. Her arias, marked by lyrical nobility rather than overt heroics, articulate a quiet but unbreakable resolve. In the cantata, these moments are reframed as musical meditations, allowing the audience to contemplate her inner world as much as her actions.
Sharing the role with Song Lu, Jin Man sees continuity rather than contrast. Passing the torch to a younger soprano is, for her, part of ensuring that Sister Jiang remains a living work rather than a historical monument. Yet she is clear that this continuity must be grounded in vocal discipline and respect for the score.
As the Henan performance demonstrated, Jin Man’s vision of Chinese bel canto is not a rejection of tradition or innovation, but an insistence that both meet on the foundation of the human voice, unassisted and fully heard.
