Music theatre Overlord is inspired by two classical traditional Chinese music written for Pipa - Ambush on All Sides and The King Doffs His Armor. Based on historical facts, Warlord portrays Chinese warlord Xiang Yu with music scores while explores his inner world via different chapters. Unlike other film and traditional Chinese opera adaptations, Warlord does not focus on retelling the story but tries to walk into the ups and downs of life and strong emotion of this legendary man two thousand years ago.

 

Founded in 1952, Shanghai Chinese Orchestra is the first big-scale modern Chinese orchestra in China. SHCO is famous for its harmonious cooperation among the members of orchestra and its excellent mastering of all kinds of works. The Orchestra plays an important role in the development of Chinese music. In the process of development of Shanghai Chinese Orchestra, there were a number of great artists who made significant contribution to the national music development, such as Zhang Ziqian, Lu Chunling, Sun Yude, Gu Guanren, Min Huifen, Yu Xunfa, Gong Yi, etc.

After the more than half a century development, SCHO now turns into a large-scale integrated national orchestra embracing four voices, that is, the stringed, plucking, wind and percussion voice. Moreover, SHCO also initiates its own professional performance season, and recorded abundant national instrumental music. Meanwhile, by introducing numerous public performances, SHCO constantly makes efforts to popularize national music.

 

 

Located in Shanghai, SHCO has gained a profound progress and development. Its performance format and repertoire include big-scale Chinese orchestral works as well as the mid-scale and small-scale traditional characteristic ones, such as stringed and wind instrumental pieces, Jiangnan Silk and Bamboo Music, plucked-strings instrumental ensemble, percussion instrumental ensembles and so on. SHCO is also actively engaged in composition, which contributed to a rich repertoire of the orchestra. In recent years, SHCO has commissioned many works, such as The Oriental River for percussion and the orchestra, The Sun Ritual for erhu and the orchestra, The Willow Dance for liuqin and the orchestra, and The Ink for zheng and the orchestra, all of which become the classical National music in the new era.

SHCO has performed all around China and also toured to dozens of countries and regions in the world. Besides, the Orchestra not only performs for the presidents and chairmen of other countries when they visit China, but is frequently invited to perform in major activities at home and abroad, such as the 2006 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, the ASEAN Summit, the 2007special Olympic Games, the 2010 Shanghai EXPO Week, the 2014 CICA Summit, etc. SHCO also often gives performance to the heads of foreign state and government held performances and was hailed as "the most beautiful Chinese Orchestra".