Splendid art dances in a viral silence

It was Chinese New Year's Eve, so when the email dropped into Chen Li's mailbox it would not have been wildly implausible for her to assume it was from a well-wisher passing on season's greetings. Instead it was from the National Centre for the Performing Arts, and the tidings were grim.

"During Spring Festival all shows and activities have been canceled," it said.

"Audiences can contact the venue to receive ticket refunds."

The venue would be closed from that day, Jan 24, it said, and an announcement about reopening would be made at a later date.

Five days later the news was bleaker still. Chen received a message from the venue saying that all shows and activities for February, about 30 in all, had been canceled because of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Among the shows were five performances of Alexandrov Ensemble, the oldest and largest military artistic troupe in Russia, from Feb 6 to 9, and a recital by the classical guitarist Yang Xuefei on Feb 29.

Chen, of Beijing, who had planned to use the holiday to take her 7-year-old granddaughter to the NCPA to enjoy some shows, was disappointed but philosophical about the turn of events.

"Now we have to change our plans, but it's a very difficult time, what with the country battling the coronavirus outbreak. We need to stay home to avoid cross-contamination."

As part of that campaign the Ministry of Education announced that the spring semester would be delayed.

More than 80 NCPA shows and 60 public activities, including workshops, movie screenings and exhibitions, had been canceled, the center said, and from Jan 26 to March 1 nearly 50,000 tickets were expected to be refunded.

The NCPA, which opened in 2007 and was designed by the French architect Paul Andreu, had celebrated its 12th anniversary in December. More than 9,600 performances and events have been staged at the venue since 2007, more than 1,000 of those last year.

However, the NPCA is showing ballerina-like nimble-footedness in ensuring that those who draw pleasure from its activities are not cut adrift. Within a week of the cancellations announcement it had begun offering free online concerts and shows, a way of entertaining its patrons and millions of others beginning to suffer from one of the coronavirus' side-effects: the boredom of being quarantined at home.

On Jan 30 a two-hour performance of Alexandrov Ensemble, who performed at the NCPA on Jan 4,2018, was screened on the center's online classical music channel. By Feb 4 the online screening had received more than 25,000 views. On Feb 3 the center's production of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida was screened on the channel and was viewed nearly 20,000 times. In addition to large stage productions, the online channel also screened recitals, concerts of symphony orchestras and choirs free of charge.

Those disappointed by the decision to cancel shows extended far beyond Beijing.

"I've been looking forward to the shows in China but the decision to cancel the shows is understandable," the newspaper Beijing Daily quoted the Italian conductor Pietro Rizzo as saying. "I hope things get better soon."

Rizzo had been down to visit Beijing as conductor for a performance of Aida, featuring more than 500 artists from six countries, at the NPCA on Feb 26.

In addition to online screenings of concerts and shows, the online channel also offers free dance classes given by the Chinese dancer-choreographer Wang Yabin, coaching people about traditional Chinese dance.

"Music has the power to soothe babies to sleep, to communicate peaks of joy and depths of sorrow," said Guan Zhijing, bass-baritone of the NCPA's opera actor team. "We want to share music with more people at this unusual time."

Guan, of Beijing, said he had gone through the ordeal of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak 17 years ago.

"In this kind of crisis people need comforting and healing, and it's important to protect the health and safety of the audience."

On Jan 30 and Feb 1, within 40 hours, Guan and other singers and musicians threw themselves into rehearsals for a new song, titled The Angels, inspired by the doctors and nurses working on the front lines of the coronavirus battle, before it was recorded and released on the NCPA's online platform.

The NCPA is just one of hundreds of venues around China at which concerts and shows have been canceled since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the city of Wuhan, Hubei province.

At the Beijing Concert Hall 18 shows from Jan 25 to Feb 29 were canceled, and at the Beijing People's Arts Theatre Chinese plays such as Quan Ja Fu (Family Reunion) and Gu Wan (Antique) were canceled. The Shanghai Oriental Art Center canceled more than 15 shows due to be staged this month and next, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra's East Asia tour, including two concerts at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center on Feb 15 and 16, were canceled.

"We are all deeply disappointed that we will not be able to perform for the wonderful audiences in Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong and Shanghai," Boston Symphony Orchestra's president and chief executive Mark Volpe said.

"At this time of grave concern over the spread of the new coronavirus our thoughts continue to be with those most directly affected by this serious public health crisis."

Like the NCPA, the Beijing People's Arts Theatre has released an online program. On Feb 4 it screened the play Bei Jie Nan Yuan, which premiered at the Capital Theatre in Beijing in August 2003. Written by Wang Jian and directed by Ren Ming, the play features leading theater actors including Yang Lixin, Zhu Xu and Lyu Zhong.

Its story is that of a courtyard in Beijing and its residents during the SARS outbreak in 2003. Within a few hours the screening, online audiences were registering their appreciation for the performance.

"We wanted people living under the shadow of the virus outbreak to see this show," said a message the theater published with the screening. "We've been through a lot during the SARS outbreak. ... Now, with the challenges we face we are both resolute and confident."

In a similar vein, one theater aficionado wrote on the theater's social media platform:"The viral outbreak is hitting the arts industry hard. Cities like Beijing and Shanghai have become international cultural centers and gateways to China. This epidemic is temporary and we'll win the battle."