Hello everyone, I'm Fei Xiang!
My earliest musical memory is probably the same as many of my friends in China: when I was a kid, I saw "The Sound Of Music" on TV.
The TV station really broadcast it many times! But every time, I will be attracted by those melodies, the stories of those characters... Invisibly, I sat in front of the TV again, and was touched again. Why?
We may not necessarily understand the troubles of a young nun, but as soon as we see Julie Andrews, playing Maria, escape from the convent and ascend the hillside, as soon as the music of the theme song sounds, she begins to sing... Our mood flew with her.
Sister Maria, who loves to sing in the movie The Sound of Music
This is the unique charm of musical theater: the appeal of music, the resonance that music evokes in our hearts.
I remember the first time I bought a ticket and sat in the theater to watch a musical performance... It was 1978, I had just gone to college in the United States, and I watched "A Chorus Line" on Broadway, which was simply shocking.
I remember how eager I was to have the kind of vitality and appeal that was on stage. I am particularly envious of the actors of musicals, who, in addition to using scripts and lines, can also use singing or dancing to take the audience to the limit of emotion.
So in 1991, I stepped onto broadway for the first time, and it was really a realization of my personal dream.
Fei Xiang performed on the same stage with Elaine Paige
Later, I was fortunate enough to work with many of Broadway's top composers and creators. Under their guidance, singing the most classic musical repertoire was both a treat and the most precious experience of my acting career.
When was your first contact with musical theatre? Can you remember? Don't forget, traditional Chinese opera is also a kind of musical!
Speaking of Broadway, listeners younger than me might think of the 2003 Oscar for Best Picture, Chicago, or Beyoncé's 2006 dreamgirls. I'm sure there are many more friends who grew up watching The Lion King!
Stills from the 1994 version of The Lion King
In recent years, Chinese audiences have indeed learned more about and loved musicals, and have more opportunities to experience a musical performance for themselves.
I hope that Fei Yuanhong's musical theater class can help more friends in China to overcome the language barrier and understand and appreciate the history and highlights of classic musicals in a deeper way.
When I myself was not on stage, I was a loyal audience for the musical. I hope you will fall in love with musicals as much as I do... Maybe one day we'll be seated in the same theater on time, waiting for the curtain to rise, expecting to be moved again.
See you in the theatre!
For young audiences, Fei Xiang, 59 years old and has been living abroad for many years, is quite unfamiliar, but 30 years ago, he was a national idol.
"Traffic Stars" of the 1980s
Fei Xiang, who is of mixed Chinese and American descent, studied in the drama department of the star-studded Stanford University and the New York Theater Academy. In 1987, Fei Xiang became the first Taiwanese singer to return to the mainland of his motherland and became famous on the Spring Evening of CCTV with "Clouds in the Hometown" and "A Fire in Winter".
The "one fire" at the Spring Festival Gala in 1987 burned all over the country
That was the first round of star-chasing frenzy Chinese mainland, and the degree of popularity was much higher than that of current traffic stars. In 1989, Fei Xiang held 65 concerts in 12 cities in China. However, no one could have imagined that as soon as the tour ended, Fei Xiang bid farewell to the Chinese audience and went to New York Broadway to develop at the peak of his career.
The light of the Chinese on the world musical theatre stage
The average musical theater actor entered the industry less than 20 years old, and Fei Xiang became the first Chinese actor on Broadway at the age of 30. He competed from scratch for the cast in Miss Saigon; as the lead singer on a concert world tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the godfather of the musical and author of Phantom of the Theatre and Cats; as a guest singer on Sarah Brightman's concert tour...
Fei Xiang and Sarah Brightman took a group photo after the performance
Fei Xiang has also always tried to recommend this art form he loves to Chinese music fans. He persuaded Mr. Weber to bring a touring group to China to perform, and also participated in the overall planning and organization of the concert, which led to the "Extraordinary Works" concert in the Great Hall of the People and the Shanghai Grand Theatre in 2001, which led many people to understand musicals and become fans of musicals.
In order to let Chinese music fans better understand the essence of musical theater classics, Fei Xiang has twice funded the production of Chinese edition albums of broadway musical classics: "Broadway Selection" in 1997 and "Broadway Classics" in 2004. It cost tens of millions to make these albums, and it was impossible to make money, but Fei Xiang did not give up.
Unlike being a pop singer and movie star, it's hard to be famous as a musical theater actor. Fei Xiang said: It is the singer himself who is shown to be a pop singer, but in the musical, the actor himself can only give way to the role. At the peak of his career, Fei Xiang did not hesitate to give up his fame and fortune for his artistic dreams. Nowadays, Chinese musicals are developing rapidly, and many young people after 90 or even 00s have re-recognized and "powdered" Fei Xiang because of musicals.
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What is the unique charm of the art form of musical theater?
If you also like Fei Xiang, or pay attention to musicals and want to systematically learn about the knowledge of musical theaters, it is better to come to the online class of Mr. Fei Yuanhong, a senior expert in musical theater, and Fei Xiang as a classmate! This is the only way to learn about musical theatre.
Sanlian Middle Reading specially invited Fei Yuanhong, a top domestic musical theater producer
With 40+ world-class classics, take you to an immersive experience
The timeless emotion and power in the musical
Keynote speaker
Fei Yuanhong
Senior musical theater planner and producer
Lyrics translator, music critic and drama critic
Course Highlights
01 Multi-angle analysis of 40+ classics,
Make your fare 10 times more expensive
Carefully selected more than 40+ of the world's most classic musicals, dismantled one by one, deconstructing the spiritual core from history, society, drama and music, tasting the beauty of drama from directors, stage artists, screenwriters and actors; and delving into the depth of classic musicals for decades from an open perspective.
Let you do your musical theater novice homework at one time, even if the language is not understood, you can rely on knowledge reserves and appreciation methods to capture the transparent moments of understanding of musical theater, and from then on, you can embark on a theater journey without fear of cultural thresholds.
02 Go! An in-depth visit to the temple of musical theater around the world
It's a pilgrimage for exclusive musical theater lovers, including London's West End, New York's Broadway, France, Germany, Austria, Russia...
What are the local characteristics of musical theaters in various places, and how do they take root and grow until they become famous and popular in the world? How did the prestigious hall-level theater grow? You will follow "Fei Lao" to find the answer.
03 Behind the scenes, take you to witness the musical from 0 to 1
As a senior musical theater creator, "Fei Lao" authoritatively "broke the news" behind-the-scenes footage that is difficult for the audience to see, and there are also anecdotes and anecdotes of well-known musical theater casts and directors.
For the first time, you will open the curtain and walk close to the backstage of the musical, witnessing the whole process of a good play from creation to performance, and becoming an expert in musical theater.