Musical for a martyr premiers in Chongqing

Jiang Jie, a musical that tells the story of the female martyr, Jiang Zhuyun, who is also known as Jiang Jie, premiered in Chongqing on Sept 14.

Born in 1920 in Sichuan province, Jiang joined the Communist Party of China when she was 19, and is well-known thanks to the revolutionary novel Hong Yan (Red Crag) written by Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan, which was published in 1961. It recounts the actions of a group of Communists and their heroic battle in Chongqing in 1949, on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Students and teachers at the Beijing Film Academy, who were among the musical's creative team, traveled to Chongqing to visit memorial halls for the martyrs.

"Chongqing was portrayed in the novel as the main city where the story took place. It made the premiere there very special and significant," says singer Wang Li, who plays the role of Jiang.

In 1964, an opera, Jiang Jie, based on Jiang's story, premiered in Beijing and became popular with a wide audience. When the National Center for the Performing Arts adapted the opera into a new version in 2017, Wang, then a 25-year-old singer, who had recently graduated from university and had won a top national music award, was chosen to play the titular role. To date, she has performed the role more than 100 times.

According to the producer, Gao Jingyu, the musical appeals to a range of audiences, especially young people, for its diversity of musical elements, including rock, folk and pop music.