''Zan Yuen'' (《苍原》''cāngyuán'' "boundless grasslands") is a 1995
Chinese-language western-style opera
Chinese contemporary classical opera (Chinese: 当今古典歌剧; ''dāngjīn gŭdiăn gējù''; "contemporary classical opera") is a musical art form drawing on western opera traditions - distinct from modern developments of traditional Chinese o ...
(中国当代歌剧). The plot concerns a
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
n tribe returning from
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
to China during the reign of the
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
in the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
.China Theatre Annual 中国戏剧年鉴. China Theatre Annual Editorial. 《中国戏剧年鉴》 編輯部 - 1997 Page 162 "现在,《苍原》大获成功,尤其是音乐大获成功,证明他具有这种才能。现在,让我们就《苍原》音乐创作所取得的成就,做一简单的评析。在歌剧音乐创作中,音乐风格的确立,以及为达成某种风格采用的具体构成方式,是每一个作曲家都要面对的问] 1 。徐占海在 ..."
The music was composed by Xu Zhanhai (徐占海 born 1945), of the Shenyang Music Institute and Liaoning Opera, based on the plot of a radio drama series ''Run to the place where the sun rises'' (《奔向太阳升起的地方》) by screenwriter Yan Derong (阎德荣 born 1936). A DVD was recorded by the Liaoning Opera in 1996 featuring tenor
Wei Song
Wei Song (魏松; born 1955) is a Chinese operatic tenor.
With Dai Yuqiang and Hong Kong born Warren Mok he has performed abroad as "China's Three Tenors."