Operatic exchange program with China pays off for UBC School of Music

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      It appears to be a fair exchange: UBC is shipping the globally esteemed Nancy Hermiston to China, and getting 35 students from the Beijing Central Conservatory’s opera program in return. But, of course, as is usual in the world of international trade, nothing is quite as simple as it seems.

      “I’ve been going to China since about 2003, 2004,” Hermiston explains, in a telephone interview from her office in UBC’s Old Auditorium. “I first went over to do some master classes at the Beijing conservatory, and then I went to Chengdu, and then I took about 42 students over to Beijing, and then to Chengdu after that. We did concerts there and had a really nice collaboration with the Chinese students. I was also doing some staging work for their production of Tosca; there was another director that did the end staging, but I worked with them on the parts, sort of dramatically.”

      It’s clear why the two Chinese conservatories would want Hermiston: the chair of the UBC School of Music’s voice and opera divisions is also a highly respected director, with a particular interest in raising singers’ acting ability to match their vocal prowess. Up until now, she notes, Chinese opera pedagogy has focused on vocal technique, and less on other aspects of the dramatic arts.

      “I think we’re stressing the acting side as well as the singing—although you cannot sing an opera if you can’t sing the role! There’s no way you can swindle that,” she says. “The singing, that’s the most important thing. But the acting is right up there as well, and for the last 30, 40 years you can’t not be a good actor and be on-stage. So I think we have that to offer them—and, again, they’re changing very, very rapidly. There are more and more wonderful actors that are coming out of China. But when I first started to go there, that was why they were bringing a lot of North Americans over. They wanted that acting aspect.”

      As for why the Beijing exchange is important on this side of the pond, Hermiston delivers what she jokingly describes as “a long-winded answer to a simple question”, beginning with the notion that China is opera’s next frontier.

      “In China, one of the fastest-growing art forms is opera, and they’re building a lot of opera houses over there now,” she says. “In fact, one time when we were in Beijing with the big group, we went to an opera and the majority of the audience was younger people. It was the same with the symphony orchestra, so I think a lot of people have gotten interested in western classical music, and particularly opera.

      “I kind of think what attracts a lot of people is this tremendous force of music and emotion, this very human experience,” she continues. “There’s also a certain kind of athleticism to the art form of opera. It’s sort of putting it all out there on the line, and I always tell my students that we’re really a high-performance sport. It’s like coming down the ski hill: you’ve got a split second to make that high F in the Queen of the Night’s aria, right? And if you haven’t got all the factors in place, it won’t come out. That’s the second you’re going down the ski hill and you take a wrong turn, and bang! You’re done for, right? So there’s a bit of that sports excitement in opera, and this could also be something that appeals to the Chinese, who are people of great admiration for precision and high-quality performance and excellence.”

      Nancy Hermiston.

      And then there’s the undeniable fact that China is the world’s most populous nation. Demographics alone suggest that many of opera’s future stars will be of Chinese origin, a phenomenon already visible in the worlds of orchestral and chamber music. So the exchange program that will put the Beijing Central Conservatory’s best on-stage with their UBC Opera Ensemble peers is also a chance for local listeners to preview artists they could well be queuing up for in five years’ time.

      “The Beijing conservatory is like the Juilliard of China, so all the top students go there,” Hermiston says. “I remember the first time I went there, I was hoping to bring one or two of the students over for a semester, to experience what it’s like here in Canada, performing opera. And then I had all these beautiful voices singing for me, and I thought, ‘Oh my God, how do you choose? Which one do you take?’ ”

      By expanding her operatic exchange program, Hermiston has avoided having to make that choice. Local listeners are free to pick favourites of their own, however, and follow them for years to come. 

      The UBC Opera Ensemble presents a sold-out performance of Beijing Conservatory Operatic Excerpts at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts on Wednesday (December 2). The UBC and Beijing ensembles will also appear at UBC’s Old Auditorium at noon on Thursday (December 3).

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