Natalya Zeman

Natalya Zeman is the one-woman band behind Pop-Up Productions, as well as the writer and director of upcoming opera “Beijing Bohème,” an English adaptation of Puccini’s “La Bohème.” She tells Evelyn Lok about life in Beijing, how the project reflects her artistic background, and making opera more approachable.

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Published: 4:00pm, 21 Aug 2014Updated: 4:17pm, 19 Oct 2016

HK Magazine: Why did you put together this production about China?

Natalya Zeman: My interest in China was almost by accident. I’m a violinist, and I played very seriously from the age of 4. When I was 13, I went to perform at the Tianjin International Children’s Culture and Arts Festival. It was my first experience outside of Europe, and it exposed me to different cultures and artistic expression from around the world. And from there, I just kept ending up back in China. While living in Beijing, I was able to meet a lot of artists. I spent some time at Ai Weiwei’s studio—

I didn’t actually get to meet him, but I got a lot of insight into the visual arts scene. This production is a multi-sensory experience, bringing together photography, music, dance, drama, the audience and the venue [at House of Siren]—blurring the boundaries between drama and music and theater [into] something incredibly powerful.

HK: How loyal is “Beijing Bohème” to the opera it’s based on, Puccini’s “La Bohème”?

NZ: The story itself is about young friends, as well as the reality, and maybe the tragedy, of dreams that people have when they first start out as artists. We follow the storyline as it is in the original opera. We’ve gotten rid of the chorus to focus on the main characters: the whole idea was to have opera up-close. It’s very immersive: the audience is in the middle of the drama, and the cast will communicate with the audience directly.