'Dr Sun Yat-Sen' (by Huang Ruo '00) Cancelled

from MusicalAmerica.com

It looks like “Dr. Sun Yat-Sen” the opera will not get its premiere at the Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts after all. Scheduled to bow on Sept. 30, the new work by Huang Ruo was suddenly pulled last week from the schedule for what are rumored to be “political reasons.” So the opera will get its first outing instead by Opera Hong Kong, its primary producer, on Oct. 13.

The official reason for the last-minute cancellation is logistical problems, but few observers believe that. Karsten Witt Management in Berlin, which represents the composer, tells the South China Morning Post that the production was indeed "cancelled ... due to political reasons." Update, 9/26 11 p.m. The New York Times reports speaking with an unnamed source in that office today who said "a government official had gone to rehearsals and decided that the music was inappropriate."

Sun was the first president of the Republic of China. The opera's premiere was planned to coincide with the centenary of the Republic.