Wednesday, July 03, 2024

Translation of official report for "Violet Evergarden Overseas Orchestra Concert in Beijing"

Link to report (in Japanese)
Below is my English translation for fans who do not understand Japanese.
 

 
-------- start of report -------
On Saturday, 8 June 2024, "Violet Evergarden Overseas Orchestra Concert in Beijing" was held as the first overseas orchestra concert of the series at Beijing Zhongshan Park Music Hall (aka Forbidden City Concert Hall) in China.
 
China's Imperial 9 Symphony Orchestra, TRUE, and Chihara Minori performed at the concert, which reproduced the direction and music of the orchestra concert held in Tokyo in 2021 with an arrangement made especially for this performance.

More than 1,300 fans gathered at the concert venue, which was located near the Forbidden Palace. When the lights dimmed at the venue, which was filled with excitement, the concert started with the wheel rut scene and clock ticking from the start of Violet Evergarden The Movie. A round of applause welcomed the conductor Xuan Shang (弦上) and TRUE. The first piece was the opening song of the TV series, "Sincerely", with TRUE singing to the piano. The beautiful weaving of piano notes and voice in perfect tune with each other against the orchestra music brought the world of Violet Evergarden to the venue.

When the narration, in Japanese, from the TV anime series came on, the screen showed subtitles in Chinese. Soaking in the ambience of the concert's opening, the audience was drawn into the world of Violet Evergarden by the narration.

When a typewriter and chair were placed at the front of the stage, a performer dressed like Violet Evergarden appeared, and the sound of a real typewriter, as if typing out a letter, accompanied the symphonic melody of the TV anime series to invoke an image of Violet Evergarden.

Next, TRUE performed the song "Letter". Singing under the spotlight, she looked like Irma the singer from the anime. Chihara Minori then took the stage under a warm round of applause. She performed a cover of Episode 9's special ending song "Believe in..." Images summarizing the TV anime series were shown on the screen, and her voice, full of emotions, embraced the audience much like the thoughts of Violet Evergarden.

After music from Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll, TRUE and Chihara Minori again took the stage and spoke to the audience, including some words in Mandarin. When they asked if people were enjoying the concert, the audience clapped and cheered, bringing everyone together.

The two of them then introduced "Futarigoto", a song that they made together. Together, they performed the first orchestra arrangement of the song. The perfect entwining of their voices against the music of Violet Evergarden brought a special harmony that only they can deliver to the concert, penetrating deep into the hearts of the audience.

This was followed by music from Violet Evergarden The Movie and songs by Chihara Minori and TRUE, which brought the orchestra concert to its climax. The endless applause brought TRUE back to the stage for an encore, where she performed a cover of "Violet Snow". Together with TRUE's voice, the delicate tune of the harp, which was also depicted in the key visual of the concert, reached every corner of the venue. This brought even greater applause from the audience, and there were even some who were shedding tears.

Bouquets were given to Chihara Minori, TRUE, and the conductor Xuan Shang. With the flowers in their hands, TRUE and Chihara Minori spoke and expressed their thanks, again drawing applause from the audience. Finally, when the announcement was made for commemorative photo-taking, the venue was basked in flashing light, and the miraculous occasion was captured in photos. We hope that another day will come again when we can deliver the music of Violet Evergarden, beloved around the world, to people around the world.

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My overall thoughts on Violet Evergarden The Movie

Events:
 
Translations of short stories:
Gilbert Bougainvillea and the Fleeting Dream (unofficial translation of "ギルベルト・ブーゲンビリアと儚い夢")
The Starry Night and the Lonely Two (unofficial translation of 星降りの夜とさみしいふたり)
Diethard Bougainvillea's If (unofficial translation of ディートフリート・ブーゲンビリアIf) 
The Tailor and the Auto-Memories Doll (unofficial translation of 仕立て屋と自動手記人形)
 
Tellsis (Nunkish) translation:
Last line of Violet's final letter to Gilbert
 
Insights on the movie:
 
Audio commentary notes:

 
All posts related to Violet Evergarden.

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