LONDON—When others in the sold-out crowd at London's Royal Festival Hall had already collected their belongings and headed home, P.N. Mehta stayed behind.
An electronics engineer, originally from India but now a British citizen, Mr Mehta approached the orchestra pit, his eyes welling with tears.
"The show was beautiful, but I'm glad you didn't stay in China", he said, his voice noticeably shaken.
Rhyming off a serious of atrocities suffered by the Chinese under communist rule – the Cultural Revolution, crimes of the Red Guards, and the taking of organs from live people—he proclaimed, "it was evil! They were destroying the Chinese heritage; do you understand?"
With these feelings, it's no wonder Mr Mehta was struck by the performance "The Risen Lotus Flower," which depicts an act of persecution by communist officers, and the peaceful response to that repression.
"It's a very ancient country, China is, and they should preserve the culture", Mehta said.
Saturday's matinee performance of the Chinese Spectacular appeared to give Mr Mehta hope that that culture was in good hands. He gave emotional praise for the show.
"It was very enjoyable, very very nice indeed", said Mehta.
"And especially the music; it was very melodious, very very nice music, beautiful. And the singing – very professional, very good".
The music seemed to touch Mr Mehta most deeply. Though no relation to Zubine Mehta—conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra—Mr Mehta is a musician as well. He plays piano.
"This is very very nice, very artistic, and great music, melodious music", he reiterated.
Others appeared to agree. The show ended in a standing ovation.
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit:
www.DivinePerformingArts.org.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete coverage please visit:
http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
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