The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has reportedly released the final list of the approved projects of 2016 this July. Of a total number of 7,248 applications across the country, 966 were finally selected. And the epic Gezai Opera titled Tan Kah Kee Returns Home is among the winners on the list. The chief applicant of this art project is the Xiamen Gezai Opera Research and Study Center (Xiamen Gezai Opera Troupe), with Xiamen University its first cooperation partner and Jimei University the second.

Presently, headed by the troupe leader Mr. Lin Dehe, the director, music designers, stage designers, etc. are all getting geared up for the intense re-creation of the opera before they embrace the formal rehearsal.

This play is actually a close-up of merely a few days of Tan Kah Kee’s 87-year lifetime in late October, 1940， during which period he traveled back to his hometown. It dramatically and vividly portrays Mr. Tan’s deep love for his native land, his hometown and his people, and in the meantime showcases his concerns over the fate of his motherland, his strong sense of commitment and justice.

National Endowment for the Arts is a public welfare fund set up by the State and authorized by the State Council. It was officially established on December 30, 2013. With the central treasury providing the fund, NEA aims to boost and boom artistic creation, produce and promote high-quality original works, nourish and nurture talented artists and thus propel the healthy development of national art-related enterprises.

Source:http://news.xmu.edu.cn/75/f6/c1552a226806/page.htm

Edited by Meng Ling