MONTPELLIER, France—On Wednesday March 5, opera singer and cultural journalist Praskova Praskovaa attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Corum’s Opéra Berlioz auditorium.
Ms. Praskovaa has been immersed in the world of music since her earliest childhood: her great-grandfather Henri Busser, and then her grandfather, were both composers and conductors.
After taking her baccalaureate in music, the young woman went on to study musicology at the Sorbonne, while also attending the École Normale de Musique de Paris and the Conservatoire de Chant.
Today, the opera singer devotes her time to cultural journalism, writing for Le Monde, France Culture, and Radio France, and rubbing shoulders with some of the great names in classical music.
Ms. Praskovaa is also a certified stage director and vocal coach. At the Corum, she was accompanied by her daughter, Edwige Mazel, a hypnotherapist in Montpellier.
Shen Yun was “a pleasure” for them, Ms. Praskovaa said. “It’s a show that’s ravishing, with a tremendous sense of grace.”
The art critic was full of praise for Shen Yun’s dancers: “Great artists who do extraordinary technical work in terms of dance, dance technique, and musculature. It’s impressive!”
“This Chinese artist played her instrument very soulfully! I thought it was very intense,” she said.
The erhu is a two-stringed and bowed Chinese instrument dating back over 4,000 years, which can convey a wide range of emotions.
Soprano Tian Li’s rendition of the song “Honoring the Promise of Salvation” was also “a fine performance,” said the cultural journalist.
‘As if They’ve Understood Something We’ve Forgotten’
Ms. Mazel said she was “touched by so many things.”“I was touched, I thought a lot, and I laughed a lot. I didn’t expect to laugh,” she added. “I saw some very fine artistic performances, lots of beautiful costumes, lots of beautiful sets. I think what touched me the most was the message.”
For Ms. Mazel it was a “spiritual message of believing in something, of not forgetting your roots.”
“It touches me because I think there are so many things that are lost over time. I’m from a younger generation, but I can see that some things get lost,” Ms. Mazel said.
Shen Yun uses completely innovative digital projections, connecting some of the dancers’ movements with an animated backdrop. Ms. Mazel interprets this link between the use of modern technology and traditional storytelling: “It also intended to say: we’re not against modernity, but let’s not forget the old teachings that have always been there and have probably accompanied so many generations before us. That’s powerful!”
For Ms. Mazel, Shen Yun is “also a bit of hope in this world of violence, in this world where every time something exists or has existed for too long, people want to destroy it.”
“So, yes, I’m all for renewal, but I think we should also honor all those things that have endured over time and are part of the history we all share. The history of humanity,” she said.
“I feel invigorated,” concluded Mrs. Mazel, ”with a desire to touch the grace, lightness, gentleness, and zen that the Chinese embody so emblematically.”
