Live performances make a return to grateful applause
China Daily
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Conductor Huang Yi and the China Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Poly Theater in Beijing on Sunday. (Photos: China Daily)

On Jan 20, the China Philharmonic Orchestra performed at the Romanian Athenaeum, an iconic landmark concert hall in the center of Romania's capital, Bucharest. This was the orchestra's last stop on their 2020 tour of eastern Europe.

As musicians returned to their homes in China to celebrate Lunar New Year, the orchestra planned to take a short break.

However, the coronavirus pandemic hit. The orchestra was forced to cancel or postpone their concerts and tours planned for the first half of the year.

The orchestra announced its comeback, 195 days later, with a concert at the Poly Theater on Sunday. Under the baton of conductor Huang Yi, the orchestra performed various pieces, including the classic Chinese work, Red Flag, composed by the noted musician Lyu Qiming in 1965, Hungarian composer Franz Lehar's Gold and Silver (Gold und Silber) Waltz, Op.79 and Waltz of the Flowers from the second act of The Nutcracker, a ballet composed by Tchaikovsky.

The audience maintain social distancing at the theater during the concert.

"We started to do rehearsals over a week ago. All of the musicians felt excited and missed the atmosphere of playing music together in one space," says Huang.

The concert invited those who had worked on the front line of epidemic prevention and control, to watch for free.

More performances will be staged during the second half of 2020 with detailed information still to be announced, says Liu Li, vice-president of the orchestra.

"I'm thrilled to come to the theater again. It's been such a long time since I've watched a live performance," says audience member Hu Jingran, who came to watch the orchestra's concert on Sunday.

Only 30 percent of the seats in the Poly Theater were available, to maintain at least one meter of distance between visitors. Before entering the theater, the audience were required to have their temperatures checked. "Green" QR codes on their mobile phones, signifying good health, were also needed.

According to the general manager of Poly Theater, Feng Baokun, the theater is gradually reopening and a series of programs, from concerts to dramas, have been planned.