Are westerners taking enough advantage of Chinese operatic explosion?

Sometimes, the last sentence of an article should come first.

“The future of classical music is here.”

This statement by Shirley Young, chairwoman of the US-China Cultural Institute, closes a story on the explosion of interest in Western opera in China that apepared in yesterday's New York Times.

Of course, the sentence overstates the situation, but it helps to underline a the inevitable cultural ramifications of the shift in economic power from West to East. (I am just old enough to have been educated by unrepentant Marxists, so it's hard to shake a belief that cultural activity is determined by economic factors.)

The article, which only concerns itself with opera, is very much about the here-and-now, marking both an increased interest in Western works as well as a desire to create indigenous new operas. It's a good read.

But the interest in Western-style opera is merely the latest in a long, steady and incredibly successful growth in interest in European art music, cultivated for the last three decades by enterprising classical westerners -- including many Canadians.

I know that the Royal Conservatory of Music has worked hard to get its learning system accepted in China, and there have to be many other opportunities for Canadians to get involved not only as performers, but as teachers, coaches and facilitators.

Are we being enterprising enough to take full advantage of this explosion of interest in something we do really well?

Luciano Pavarotti, who had a nose for good opportunities, took himself to China in 1986. Here is a little something pieced together from his tour, which included some master classes: