by Alessandra Cardone
ROME, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Language difference was overcome by music on Saturday when children choirs from Italy and China on the same stage at the Auditorium Antonianum in the Italian capital.
Before an audience of hundreds of people, 33 Chinese children from Beijing Yuying School's Jinfan Choir and their some 40 Italian peers from the Little Choir of Antoniano staged a two-hour joint concert.
For the kid singers, such as 12-year-old Ruoxi from Beijing and 11-year-old Giulia from Bologna, the two-hour concert was time to share their efforts and passion. And for the audience it was time to enjoy a wonderful performance given by the kids.
For the Little Antoniano, by far the most famous children's choir in Italy and one of the most appreciated in the world, it was the first show held together with a Chinese counterpart ever.
"Putting Italian and Chinese children together from a musical point of view has not been really complicated," Sabrina Simoni, director of the Little Choir, told Xinhua.
"All children showed a great impulse to be in sync with each other... and, in this way, the act of singing becomes the language of emotions, which goes beyond the perfection of the notes," Simoni added.
The exhibition provided by the children, nonetheless, was perfect enough to thrill the audience.
The Jinfan Choir performed five songs from their repertoire, while the Little Antoniano gave another seven, including Chinese renowned air "Hong Yan". The concert reached its climax when both the choirs sang together, mixing their languages, melodic attitudes, and harmonies.
The concert was attentively followed. Spectators often joined the singing with visible fun, and encouraged the young performers with warm applause.
For the children, it appeared a rewarding experience.
"Such international exchanges are good for our children's development under several points of view," Wu Tianyu, teacher with Beijing's Jinfan Choir, told Xinhua.
"They have the chance to meet foreign peers and interact with them, improving their communication and relationship skills," she explained.
"They feel honored to represent their own country, China, before kids of the same age from other countries," said the Chinese teacher.
"Finally, exhibiting and confronting with foreign choirs help them feel proud of their own achievements, so their self-confidence is boosted as well," she pointed out.
Indeed, Ruoxi and Giulia looked happy of their work, and a little proud of themselves.
Shy, but smiling, the Chinese girl explained in a fluent English that performing with her choir makes her feel the "power" of music. Singing was a passion inherited from her parents, she said, and she started singing when she was six.
Giulia, from Bologna, told of a similar passion from young age. "I always sang with my father at home, when I was little," said Guilia.
But she's still new in terms of choir singing, as she became part of the Little Antoniano just two years ago.
"Knowing of my attitude, my mother enrolled me in the selection for the Little Antoniano two years ago. I past it, and have been with them since then," she explained.
Before the start of the concert, the Italian child seemed eager to perform with her Chinese peers.
"I bet they have a very different repertoire, and I am curious to sing with them," Giulia said.
Saturday's concert was part of a two-day initiative titled "Experiencing China" organized by the Chinese Embassy in Rome, China's State Council Information Office, and Italian Benetton Research and Studies Foundation to boost the knowledge of China in Italy and the artistic ties between the two countries.
The Little Choir of Antoniano has been performing around the world almost since its inception, and several times in China as well in latest years, including at Shanghai Children's Art Theater.
Despite such experience, the first ever performance together with Chinese language counterparts was an engaging commitment for Italian children.
"Preparing them to sing in Chinese has definitely been a work of great care, which we have developed through time," director Simoni told Xinhua.
The two songs performed in Chinese by the Italian kids required months of rehearsal, according to the choir's head, and the text and the sound of the words had to be carefully studied.
"It requires great efforts in order to reach the perfection with the words, of course," Simoni explained.
"But it is so fascinating and graceful in its sounds that it pushes you to instinctively search for a musical harmony, and this has helped children in their learning path."