On the evening of September 10, the Chinese version of the Italian opera Rigoletto took to the stage of the Xiamen Jiageng Theater in Fujian Province, southeast China. Chinese lyrics helped the audience, especially those coming to the opera for the first time, to immerse themselves in Rigoletto’s tragic tales of jealousy, revenge and sacrifice, composed by the great composer Giuseppe Verdi.
Two and a half hours later, Zheng Xiaoying waved her baton and wrapped up the performance, her third Rigoletto since August. The 94-year-old, China’s first female conductor, took off her glasses and turned around to face the audience and accept their cheers and applause.
It took nearly a year to prepare the show, which
