Astronomer musical shows friendship among the stars

The new Chinese musical Sidereus, which tells the story of the friendship between astronomers Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) and Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), premiered in Shanghai on Aug 13.

Adapted from a South Korean musical of the same name that was created by Kim Dong-yeon, the first round of performances of the Chinese version, ran until Sunday at Theater Above in Shanghai.

The Korean musical premiered in 2019 and was nominated for best musical production of 2020 in the country. The Chinese edition is the seventh musical production by Shanghai Culture Square, and marks the second collaboration between Kim and the Shanghai company.

"This is one of the first musical productions in China about scientists," says Fei Yuanhong, deputy general manager of Shanghai Culture Square. "This is a beautiful theater production, with great music and a well-designed stage that evokes rich imagination about outer space."

Fei adds that, "what touched me the most was the vivid portrayal of the two scientists. Their discoveries are important for human civilization. The musical presents them as vivid people with real emotions, so we decided to introduce it as a new type of musical show".

The story begins in 1616, six years after Galileo published his book Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Messenger), which introduced the discovery he made after pointing his home-made telescope to the night sky, and cast doubt on the Catholic Church's interpretation of astronomy.

Galileo was put in jail for advocating heterodoxy after his daughter, a devoted nun, discovered her father's correspondence with Kepler.

In her attempts to find out where her father's ideas came from, she found out about the bond between Galileo and Kepler.

The Chinese edition was created during the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai when the executive director and choreographer Song Hee-jin and assistant director Sung Boh-yun from South Korea were in lockdown along with the Chinese team.

"It was a unique experience," says Cao Yang, who acts as Kepler in the musical. "I would leave my room, and after a few steps I would turn into the hallway and find myself in the rehearsal room. We had online rehearsals for weeks before we could finally meet in person."

Hu Di, the actor who plays Galileo, describes the two characters as child-like and deeply fascinated by science.

"Galileo is a lovable character with many facets," Hu says. "He is a pragmatic man who often tries to find a market for his new creations, but when faced with death threats for his discovery, he stood up for his belief in science and truth."