“I love the live music. I played piano for 14 years. So seeing [the] pianist and sopranos and all of the amazing performers tonight was fantastic. I was waiting to go home and play music for myself again. It was so inspiring,” said Julia McIntyre, a television animator.

“She was amazing. Her voice just lit up the entire room. Everybody just went very quiet when she started to sing,” Ms. McIntyre said. “The notes that she was hitting at the end were insane—so crystal clear, and her vibrato and everything was just fantastic.”

The song’s lyrics reminded Ms. McIntyre of how significant it is to be with other people.

“It was very soothing. And obviously, the music was fantastic. But here we are all together. We are all together always was really nice—especially after COVID,” she said.

“It was so surprising because I didn’t realize that that was going to happen. So when the characters popped off of the stage and then were suddenly on the screen, I thought it was a fantastic execution and made the show really come alive. And you were really able to feel all of the majesty of the stories that were being portrayed. I thought it was a fantastic inclusion. Magical, absolutely,” she said.

“As someone who knows very little about [traditional Chinese culture], it was an amazing introduction. And I felt like I could really understand. Even though there weren’t any real words being said, I could see all of the images. And it made it feel so real and so tangible that it was right there in front of you. The characters would come alive and were right in front of you dancing. It was an amazing introduction to the culture,” Ms. McIntyre said.

“It was electric. It was so exciting and sad and then it was beautiful. So it was like a whole range of emotions that you were brought through the entire show,” Ms. McIntyre said.