SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Retired Opera Singer Says Shen Yun Singers ‘Very Good’

Feb 12, 2014
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Retired Opera Singer Says Shen Yun Singers ‘Very Good’

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Mr. and Mrs. English enjoyed their evening at the DeVos Performance Hall on Tuesday night, Feb. 11.

After seing Shen Yun Performing Arts World Company, whose mission is to restore 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture, Mrs. Barbara England said she had “a lot of fun.”

“I didn’t know what to expect, and I was very pleasantly entertained,” she added.

Mr. England, a retired neurosurgeon, said the couple heard about the performance through the Grand Rapids press.

“It was beautifully costumed,” Mrs. England said, noting the combination of pink and green, which she thought worked very well together.

“Every costume in a Shen Yun performance is presented with brilliant colors, displaying a splendid spectacle,” reads the Shen Yun website.

Along with its costumes, Shen Yun boasts world-class vocalists, who sing in the highly technical bel canto style.

Mrs. England holds a special place such a style of singing, as she was also an opera singer before she retired.

As for Shen Yun’s vocal artists, Mrs. England said she noted the difference in sound, and that the singers were performing in Chinese.

“The primary trait that distinguishes the singers of Shen Yun is their use of bel canto technique to sing Chinese text. This means that the singer must, while continuing to meet the challenges inherent in bel canto technique, retain proper Chinese pronunciation and diction. Today, these singers’ ability to do this is unparalleled,” according to Shen Yun’s website.

“Oh, they were very good,” she said.

Reporting by Bo Qin and Sharon Kilarski

New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has four touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time. We have proudly covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.