A forthcoming concert by the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) could well offer something fresh for a show by an army troupe.

Entitled "In the Bright Sunshine," the show -- to be performed at the Poly Theatre from June 14 to 17 -- will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Chinese PLA.

It is also the 49-year-old army ensemble's trial run to step into the performance market.

Set up in 1953 in Beijing, the ensemble is made up of art troupes and graduates from colleges and military schools.

The concert will feature mostly new songs that portray the lives and emotions of army soldiers who leave their mark in every corner of the country.

Unlike regular concerts, in which the orchestra stands quite rigid at center stage, the troupe's set designers have created several settings to turn the stage into an open audio-visual studio, a remote army post on snow-capped mountains and a vast country plain.

As the curtain raises, the audience will see a symbolic sound-recording studio at center stage.

For the special setting, Wang Chaoge -- one of the two directors of the concert -- said: "We designed the sets to break the usual vision and expand away from the stage's normal limits."

Fan Yue -- the other director -- who is a soldier, said: "The false auditorium suggests for whom we usually perform. As for the studio, we specially design it to tell how we work in it. Although we give tour performances around the year, many soldiers have few opportunities to enjoy our live concert, so we often make records or videos for them in the studio."

With this new approach, concert-goers will be able to take a glimpse of the work of the army artists and the lives of the soldiers at army barracks.

The show will be joined by Peng Liyuan, Cheng Zhi, Yan Weiwen, Yu Junjian, Wang Hongwei, Cai Guoqing, Bai Xue and Tan Jin, all renowned with today's Chinese audiences.

(China Daily May 27, 2002)