Frank Scheffer

In fast-changing China, composer Guo Wenjing seeks a way to preserve the country’s opera tradition by blending it with Western music.

Si Fan (which means ‘yearning for love’) is a Chinese opera composed by Guo Wenjing. In Frank Scheffer’s documentary Si Fan, Guo combines traditional opera from his native Sichuan with his own modern music. “I don’t think, when composing, I follow my heart,” Guo tells Ed Spanjaard, conductor of the Nieuw Ensemble, who comes to China to master the new composition. In this painstaking film, star singer Shen Tiemei represents the voice of the Sichuan opera.