A concert, staged by students from the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, features classic opera arias. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Led by internationally acclaimed soprano Sun Xiuwei, students from the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music staged a concert at the school's concert hall on Dec 13, delivering an operatic feast spanning three centuries.

The concert featured nine iconic duet pieces, showcasing masterpieces from legendary composers such as Verdi, Puccini, and Jules Massenet. It opened with the humorous dialogue of Gaetano Donizetti's comic opera L'elisir d'amore. Verdi's Rigoletto was presented in a stirring quartet, capturing the shifting dynamics of seduction, mockery, heartbreak, and fury.

The concert's director, Liu Mingyang, used a silent protagonist — moonlight — to guide the narrative, with a lighting design that followed the natural rhythms of the day, from the warmth of "dusk" to the "clear glow of the new moon", and finally, to the "ripples of moonlight" fading into the "hope of dawn". This interplay of music and light transformed the concert into a journey through fate, love, and sorrow, woven together under the same moonlit sky.

Under Sun's direction, the opera school students had the rare opportunity to bridge their classroom learning with real-world stage experience.

"This is not just a concert to showcase talent, but a precious opportunity for an in-depth dialogue with operatic classics. By interpreting works from different eras and styles, the students dive into the soul of their characters, honing their vocal technique and stage presence, and maturing as artists," Sun said.