Opera adaptation hits high note at London premiere

An opera based on a book by Chinese-British author Hong Ying received its world premiere in London on Nov 1 with the help of two British musicians who have a long and close connection with China's classical music scene.

The performance, by the Arcadian Opera company at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, consisted of two pieces inspired by a series of books with Sangsang as the central character.

The first was a narrated piece, The Girl from the French Fort, which was created for the China pavilion at the Milan Expo in 2015, and the second is a new work, The Stone God, based on the story New Moon Rising, both composed by Nicholas Michael Smith.

The stories, set in Chongqing in Southwest China, are rooted in Hong Ying's childhood memories.

"I told my daughter traditional Chinese stories when she was growing up, so I wanted to contribute to the library of children's stories and created a series of stories for her and her age range," she tells China Daily, admitting that she was surprised but delighted that someone else saw the wider artistic potential in her writing.