“Powerful”, “engrossing” Paradise Interrupted garners raves at Lincoln Center Festival

The AOP-developed opera Paradise Interrupted wowed audience and press during its New York City premiere at the Lincoln Center Festival in July. at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC this past week. Drawing inspiration from the legend of Adam and Eve, as well as the Chinese story of The Peony Pavilion, Paradise Interrupted combines strong visual and aural effects, to tell the moving story of a woman’s journey towards self-realization. Combining composer Huang Ruo (Dr. Sun Yat-sen), visual artist Jennifer Wen Ma (opening and closing ceremonies of Olympics Beijing 2008), and singer Qian Yi (Peony Pavilion), this riveting production has critics raving about a new genre of opera: installation opera.

“Paradise Interrupted,” with, from left, Yi Li, Qian Yi and Joo Won Kang, at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College. Credit: Stephanie Berger for The New York Times

Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times praised the production, calling it “"powerful... engrossing.... [Qian Yi] was superb.” He gave particular praise to Huang Ruo’s “integrated, richly detailed score” stating that opera was “so alluring and powerful due largely to the inventive and personal music of its composer, Huang Ruo.”

Alina Cohen at The New York Observer found Paradise Interrupted “"a thrill to watch ... a living, vivid variation of one of humanity’s oldest stories ... infuses an old form with contemporary ideas and technology" while WQXR’s Operavore said, “[Huang Ruo is] a thrillingly inventive composer ... [Jennifer Wen Ma's production] fit the libretto's parable beautifully ... Qian Yi [is] a charismatic marvel."

The Chinese singer Qian Yi in “Paradise Interrupted,” directed and designed by Jennifer Wen Ma, composed by Huang Ruo and presented as part of the Lincoln Center Festival. Credit: Stephanie Berger for The New York Times

The New York Classical Review called the work "dreamily poetic … part of what makes Paradise Interrupted so compelling is the ways in which it surprises ... powerfully communicative thanks to its superb realization, beginning with the score. Huang Ruo’s writing...lands with dramatic force, powered by the depth of its imagination ... Qian Yi['s] gestures, presence, and characterization were mesmerizing."

"Mesmerizing, Tantalizing,” raved Broadway World. “Shows off the composer at his most alluring ... Designer Ma's physical vision was stunning ... Qian Yi [is] totally enthralling in every part of her performance."

Paradise Interrupted had its world premiere in 2014 at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC. The production is scheduled to travel to Singapore in August, and then to Taiwan.