The dilapidated stone wall of Zhongshan Wharf stands on the stage, pulling the audience's memories back to Nanjing in 1937. A familiar Bach violin song sounded in the city of Nanjing, which had become devastated by the Japanese occupation, and the bombing of Japanese aircraft was coming! This is the stage for the large-scale original opera "Rabe's Diary" created by Jiangsu Performing Arts Group against the background of the Nanjing Massacre.
In December 1937, the Japanese invaders captured Nanjing, the civilians were devastated by war, and the beautiful ancient city became a purgatory on earth. Johann Raabe, the business representative of Siemens in Nanjing at that time, bravely assumed the post of chairman of the security zone committee, and together with many international friends, carried out humanitarian rescue for civilians in Nanjing, saved the lives of a large number of Chinese, and recorded the precious materials of the Nanjing Massacre, which became ironclad evidence for restoring the historical truth.
Tang Jianping, composer of the opera "Rabe's Diary", said that the creation of the play takes the Chinese story as the core, expresses the theme of common concern of mankind through international language, shows the Chinese spirit to the world, and tells the Chinese story. Through the form of art, I hope that more people will understand suffering and remember history, cherish peace.
In 2017, "Rabe's Diary" premiered in the Opera Hall of Jiangsu Grand Theatre, and in 2019, it embarked on a European Thanksgiving Tour, completing five performances in Germany and Austria, passing through the Berlin State Opera, the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, and the Lornach Theater in Vienna, with more than 8,400 spectators attending the performance. After watching "Rabe's Diary" in Berlin, Thomas Rabe, the grandson of Johann Rabe, said that the history presented by the play through the performance is a particularly dark moment in China, and it is also a history worth remembering for Germans.
The communication of emotion and art can completely cross the language and cultural barriers, coupled with the use of the opera form that is well known to Westerners, "Rabe's Diary" has won the resonance and favor of foreign audiences. "Rabe's Diary" not only brought that history to the West, but also shone with the brilliance of human nature, composing a song of cherishing life and pursuing peace.
Source: Nanjing Daily
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