VERISM IN THE MIRROR OF THE ORIENT: NATIONAL RECEPTION OF ITALIAN OPERA IN CHINA DURING THE 20TH–21ST CENTURIES

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive art-historical analysis of the national reception of Italian verismo opera within the cultural space of China during the 20th and 21st centuries. The author focuses on the phenomenon of the Singing Formant as a key technological and aesthetic factor that determined the success of the Chinese vocal school on the European opera stage. The study analyzes the historical prerequisites for the penetration of Western musical thinking into East Asia, particularly the role of the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra under Mario Paci, which became the region's primary hub for the Italian tradition. It is identified that the ideological resonance between Italian verismo and Chinese culture was bolstered by the national literary movement for critical realism led by Lu Xun, whose quest for the «truth of life» (verita) was reflected in operatic naturalism. Special attention is paid to the specifics of vocal pedagogy at the Beijing and Shanghai conservatories, where the Italian standards of affondo and appoggio were adapted to the national phonetic system, overcoming psychophysiological conflicts between the nature of the Chinese language and the requirements of verismo singing. The research examines Giacomo Puccini's opera «Turandot» not only as an example of Western Orientalism but also as a rigorous test of technical maturity for Chinese sopranos, requiring ultimate vocal power. The author argues that the contemporary success of Chinese performers results from the evolution of a national technique that integrated the verismo «emotional cry» into the clearly structured phonetic system of the Orient. The path of verismo's transformation from borrowed «exotica» to a fundamental academic canon and a tool of national prestige is traced. The article demonstrates that the activities of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing have established a new standard for opera productions, where Italian passion is blended with Chinese rationality.