Wang Qingshuang (left) and Zhang Qiping perform a scene from The Red Guards on Honghu Lake.  Photo: Courtesy of NCPA

"Waves after Waves on Honghu Lake" was once one of China's most popular folk songs. Now a new generation of music lovers will be able to enjoy this famous song performed live at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

In celebration of the 65th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 55th anniversary of the classic opera, The Red Guards on Honghu Lake, the opera from which "Waves after Waves on Honghu Lake" originated, will be performed at the NCPA from September 28 to October 5.

First performed in 1959 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, this modern Chinese opera's six acts tell the true story how local Red Guards in Mianyang, Hubei Province rose up against local bully Peng Batian in 1930 during which heroine Han Ying sacrifices herself to save the people of her hometown.

Different groups will perform the opera during its seven days at the NCPA during which the female lead role will be played by soprano singers Wu Na, Zhang Qiping and Wang Qingshuang.

The Red Guards on Honghu Lake has been performed more than 1,000 times across the nation, and many of its songs have been covered by famous folk singers such as Peng Liyuan and Song Zuying, ensuring that fans of all ages around the country know the opera's famous songs by heart. Differing from Western operas, audiences are encouraged to sing along, and at times performances evolve into a full on chorus sung by both the performers and the audience at the same time. Some of China's most representative "red" songs, the music praises the brave spirit of the soldiers who fought against tyranny, their deep love for their hometown and their hatred of their enemy. The strong emotions and deep feelings within each song are immediately obvious to most listeners.

After its premiere, in October 1959 Hubei Province staged the opera in Beijing for the first time as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Republic. Winning the hearts of audiences at the time, the opera was soon adapted into a movie in 1961, spreading the songs from the opera, including "Waves after Waves in Honghu Lake" and "No Tears, No Sorrow," throughout the entire nation.

Sadly during the Cultural Revolution  (1966-76) the opera was listed as a "black opera" and banned from being performed. After the Cultural Revolution, the film version of The Red Guards on Honghu Lake was able to be shown in theaters once again. This caused huge demand among audiences, and so in 1977 the stage version was performed anew, once again becoming hugely popular. Later in 1999, a new version of The Red Guards on Honghu Lake, which added more Western musical elements, was produced.

Differing from most operas now shown in theaters nowadays, most performers in The Red Guards on Honghu Lake are folk singers, while the opera's music merges Hubei folk songs with music from traditional operas from the Jianghan Plain in Hubei. In preparation for this year's National Day, in 2012 the NCPA began cooperating with the Hubei Province Opera and Dance Theatre to produce a fresh new version of the opera, adapting it with a new younger generation in mind. Stage designer Gao Guangjian has incorporated multi-media visual effects in order to bring the vastness of Honghu Lake and its surrounding fields of flourishing lotus flowers to the stage. 

This opera is a remembered quite fondly by many senior citizens in China. Lately some have even begun sharing their own stories related to the opera in articles on the Beijing Evening News. Take the 65-year old Wei for instance, once a poor boy who couldn't afford a theater ticket, he wanted to see the opera so badly that he snuck into the theater by pretending to be the son of some stranger that was heading to see the show; or the 72-year-old Dong Tianshu, a national-level volleyball player back when the opera was first making the rounds. She remembers the great encouragement and motivation that she always derived from the opera and its music, and how it could always help her forget the tiredness from her volleyball training.

For today's younger generation, the performance starting this Sunday might very well be a great opportunity to experience the memories of the an older generation for themselves.