Mentoring: A Path of Growth
January 2010
Banner photo: Road to Purse Caundle, U.K. [©David Noton/Getty Images]
Min-On Sponsors Chinese Opera and Haitian Music Tours
China National Peking Opera Company (CNPOC) launched a Japan tour of its new production The Water Margin--the Vows of Song Jiang and the Heroes of Mount Liang Shan Po at the Aichi Prefecture Performing Arts Theater in Nagoya on October 7. Organized by the Min-On Concert Association, CNPOC was slated to perform the opera in 33 cities throughout Japan from October 7 to December 10. The tour commemorates the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The Water Margin (Shui hu zhuan in Chinese) is considered one of the four classic novels of Chinese literature, and is also known as All Men Are Brothers, Outlaws of the Marsh or The Marshes of Mount Liang. The story describes the outlaw Song Jiang and his 108 bandits, many of whom suffered as a result of the Song Dynasty's corruption and decadence at the height of its rule. The bandits gather under the leadership of Song Jiang in the mountain fortresses of Liang Shan Po, vowing to defy the imperial forces and bring salvation to the oppressed people.
From August 18 through September 13, Min-On hosted a 14-city tour by the Haitian group Mini All Stars as part of its concert series "The Caribbean Musical Cruise." This was the first Japan tour by the group. Mini All Stars consists of Haitian musicians and singers selected by Mini Records, the premier label for the music of Haiti for more than 30 years. During the concert, the group performed popular compas numbers. (Compas is a musical genre unique to Haiti incorporating rock, rhythm & blues and jazz.)
The Republic of Haiti's Deputy Ambassador to Japan Jean Claude Bordes commented that the concert provided a good opportunity for Japanese people to experience the beauty of Haitian music.
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