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Harbin Performance a Great Success | First Stop of UBC Opera’s “Thunderstorm” China Tour
Harbin Performance a Great Success | First Stop of UBC Opera’s “Thunderstorm” China Tour
May 3, 2025
The delegation presented a Canada–China Friendship plaque to Harbin Concert Hall (Harbin Symphony Orchestra).
From right to left: Yang Hongpeng, Deputy Director of the Heilongjiang Foreign Affairs Office; Nancy Hermiston, Stage Director; Ji Haiyan, Deputy Director of the Harbin Symphony Orchestra; Li Yi, Conductor; Zhang Huixin, Head of the visiting delegation.
Jointly presented by the Canadian Multicultural Volunteer Foundation and the Opera Department of the University of British Columbia (UBC), the large-scale opera Thunderstorm, composed by Chinese-Canadian composers Tang Kang-nian and Pan Xing-hai, was grandly staged at Harbin Concert Hall on 3 May 2025. Under the baton of rising conductor Li Yi, resident conductor of the Harbin Symphony Orchestra, UBC Opera singers performed alongside the Harbin Symphony Orchestra, achieving resounding success.
The production received strong support from the Foreign Affairs Office of Heilongjiang Province and Harbin Concert Hall (Harbin Symphony Orchestra).
Golden Week Meets a Feast of Art—Audience Left “Pumped with Excitement”
Coinciding with the May Day Golden Week, the performance drew large numbers of art lovers and tourists. Zhang Zuhao, a visitor from Guangdong, remarked:
“This is my first time enjoying an opera in a professional concert hall, and the allure of Harbin, the ‘City of Music,’ is breathtaking. We read Thunderstorm in our school textbooks, but seeing it on stage makes the words leap into reality—the fusion of Chinese and Western art goes straight to the heart!”
He added that the show was more than an unexpected highlight of his trip; it was “a dialogue with art” that nourished the spirit:
“In an atmosphere like this, you become broader-minded and softer at heart.”
Director: Nancy Hermiston
Professor, Stage Director & Soprano; former faculty, University of Toronto Opera & Performance Dept; now Director of Opera, UBC
Selected Productions: La Traviata, La Bohème, Verdi’s Rigoletto; for Vancouver Opera: The Barber of Seville, Cinderella, Die Fledermaus
Appointments & Awards:
2004 – Appointed UBC University Marshal
2008 – Rosie Somerset Award
2010 – Killam Teaching Prize
2011 – Opera Canada Ruby Award
2013 – Officer of the Order of Canada
2017 – BC Award for Excellence (CMC)
2017 – UBC Honorary Alumnus Award
2018 – Dean of Arts Award (UBC)
2018 – Inductee, BC Entertainment Hall of Fame
Chair of the Organizing Committee: Wei Renmin
Cultural Envoy · Overseas-Chinese Leader · Philanthropic Model
Entrepreneur, philanthropist, social activist
Executive Chair (8th term), United Chinese Community Associations of Canada
Honorary President, Sichuanese Association of Canada
Key promoter of Sino-Canadian cultural exchange
Long-time advocate for bringing Chinese culture to the world stage
Supports diverse arts initiatives, building grass-roots bridges of friendship between Canada and China
Strong supporter of the opera Thunderstorm as an integral part of the UBC Opera curriculum
“Inspired by the Canadian Multicultural Volunteer Foundation’s commitment to multiculturalism, and grateful for its unwavering support of UBC artists who quietly champion Chinese culture, I hope this academic exchange tour lets young artists from China and Canada feel the power and depth of Western opera. We believe cultural fusion will spark creativity, cultivate globally minded talent, and strengthen friendship and cooperation between the next generations of our two countries.”
Head of the Visiting Delegation: Zhang Huixin
President, Canadian Multicultural Volunteer Foundation
President, Fraser Volunteer Association (Canada)
Entrepreneur · Philanthropist · Social Activist
Producer of the National Truth & Reconciliation Day gala Over the Rainbow
Chair, 2024 Thunderstorm Opera Organizing Committee
“Our association tirelessly nurtures Canada’s multicultural fabric, combats racism, and advances reconciliation and community dialogue with First Nations. Through volunteer service we have achieved notable social impact across Western Canada. Thanks to the combined efforts of our members and UBC artists, Thunderstorm scored dazzling success in Vancouver—a vivid testament to multiculturalism.
This China tour, steeped in Chinese culture yet linking East and West, is more than an artistic feast; it is a cultural milestone. We believe the UBC Opera Thunderstorm China Tour will become a landmark of Sino-Canadian exchange, giving global audiences an unforgettable artistic experience and offering young Canadian artists broader artistic horizons, while creating fresh opportunities for growth and cooperation between the youth of our two nations.”
Co-Chair of the Visiting Delegation: Peter Fu
President, Fuyu International
Executive President, United Chinese Federation of Canada
Philanthropist · Social Activist
Blake ZeLin Shan – Canadian Youth Leader
Mike Zhang – Honorary Chair, United Chinese Community Associations of Canada
Principal Cast
Emma Jang as Fan Yi
Christina Demeo as Fan Yi
Wanshuai Yu as Zhou Ping
Kiho Sohn as Zhou Ping
Zabeth Petersen as Si Feng
Sarah Richardson as Si Feng
Andrew Greenwood as Zhou Puyuan
Denis Petrov as Zhou Puyuan
Ming-Xuan Chung as Zhou Chong
Kevin Liu as Zhou Chong
Kate Elizabeth Fraser
Maria Ayque as Shi Ping
Charise Catarina Pohl
Saba Taghiakbari
Kenda Robbin Charlene McDermott
Tom Quoc Tien Trinh
Jonathon Hoi Gwun Chan
Ezekiel Joseph Wang
About the Opera Thunderstorm
The opera is adapted from Cao Yu’s classic play Thunderstorm. In 1999, composer Tang Kang-nian travelled to Beijing to meet Cao Yu’s widow, Li Yuru. After hearing three arias Tang had written, she gave strong approval and repeatedly stressed that the character of Fan Yi should remain the dramatic focus.
Honouring that guidance, Tang shaped the opera around the tragic fate of Fan Yi. While preserving the play’s core conflicts, he presents them through richly musical means—interweaving arias, ensembles, and brief spoken passages. Multiple concert-style textures are folded into the score, allowing the music’s power to amplify the story. The result is a seamless, emotionally charged work in which vivid characters and layered situations come alive on stage.
Mr. Tang Kang-nian
Ms. Pan Xing-hai
Composers & Creative Background
Composer Tang Kang-nian devoted more than twenty years to writing most of the opera’s arias and choral numbers.
In 2017, after Tang fell gravely ill, his wife Pan Xing-hai vowed to finish his musical dream. Working with playwright He Zhaohua (former Director, Shanghai Opera House), she first completed the revised libretto, then composed the remaining music—including all recitatives.
Production Timeline
2017 Tianjin • Concert Version – Producer: Gao Jiulin (ex-President, Tianjin Song & Dance Theatre); Conductor: Tang Muhai; Orchestra: Tianjin SDT Symphony; Director: Fang Honglin; Venue: Tianjin Grand Theatre Concert Hall.
2019 Tianjin • Fully-staged – Producer: Tianjin Song & Dance Theatre; Conductor: Dong Junjie; Director: Fang Honglin; Venue: Tianjin Auditorium (2 performances). Same team toured to Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre for 2 shows.
2024 Vancouver • UBC Version – Jointly produced by the Fraser Volunteer Association (Canada) & UBC School of Music, Opera Division; Director: Nancy Hermiston; Conductor: Ken Hsieh; Orchestra: Vancouver Opera Orchestra; Venue: UBC Old Auditorium (3 performances).
Presenting Bodies
Hosts: Multicultural Volunteers Foundation of Canada · UBC School of Music (Opera Program)
Co-hosts: Chinese Performing Arts Society of Canada · North America Culture Promotion Society · Tian Xing Jian Charitable Foundation (Guangdong) · Vancouver Youth Foundation
Producer: Jooglemedia Canada
Local Hosts & Supporters
Harbin – Host: Harbin Symphony Orchestra / Concert Hall | Support: Heilongjiang Provincial Foreign Affairs Office
Daqing – Host: Daqing Grand Theatre | Support: Heilongjiang & Daqing FAOs
Guangzhou – Host: Sun Yat-sen University | Support: Guangdong Provincial FAO · Tian Xing Jian Charitable Foundation
Ya’an – Host: Ya’an Cultural Center · Canadian Youth Foundation | Assist: Ya’an Bird Protection Assoc. | Support: Ya’an Overseas Chinese Office · Sichuan Provincial FAO
Chengdu – Host: Sichuan Conservatory of Music | Support: Sichuan Provincial FAO
Suzhou & Nanjing – Hosts: North America Culture Promotion Society · Nanjing University of the Arts | Support: Jiangsu Provincial FAO
Beijing – Hosts: Central Conservatory of Music · Beijing Language University · Capital University of Economics & Business · Sino-US-Canada Int’l Media | Support: Beijing Municipal FAO · World Madam · Empower HER · Huilongsen Int’l Incubator (Beijing)
Acknowledgements
Lia Engineering Ltd. · Wenjing Holidays
About the Main Hosts
About the Main Hosts
UBC School of Music – Founded 1947; one of Canada’s most prestigious music faculties, renowned for performance, research and education on UBC’s scenic Vancouver campus.
UBC Opera Program offers comprehensive training in stagecraft and mounts several full productions each season, giving students extensive professional experience.
Multicultural Volunteers Foundation of Canada – A federally registered non-profit dedicated to intercultural understanding. Through arts, culture and community projects, it fosters respect, inclusion and international exchange, powered by volunteers from diverse backgrounds.
(FAO = Foreign Affairs Office)
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