The Cincinnati Opera Connection and the Great Wall

A soprano who once sang the role of Madame Butterfly with Cincinnati Opera was instrumental in issuing the invitation to the Pops to tour China, said conductor Erich Kunzel Wednesday, at a press conference held shortly after the orchestra arrived.

Yan Yan Wang, who is a friend of the tour presenter, heard the orchestra rehearsing in Music Hall while she was performing the role of the geisha Cio-Cio San in "Madame Butterfly" at Cincinnati Opera in 1996. The singer, who was present at the press event and welcoming banquet, said she knew then that she had to bring the orchestra to Beijing.

On Thursday, our first full day in China, the musicians began to appreciate the immensity of Beijing, a city of more than 13 million, where epic streams of cars throng eight-lane highways alongside swerving bicycles and where the gray skyline is dotted with construction cranes in every direction.

Like the construction boom here over the past 30 years, culture is also booming. Glossy concert posters with images from "The Lion King," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" advertise the Cincinnati Pops concerts in subways and kiosks throughout the city. While the Pops is in town, Beijing is also hosting the eighth annual Beijing Music Festival through Nov. 5, to include the first performance in China of Wagner's complete "Ring Cycle," violinist Joshua Bell, the Labeque Sisters (duo pianists) and the Berlin Philharmonic.

But on Thursday, it was soul-satisfying for the musicians to get out of the big city and into the country (albeit a tourist area in Badaling), where the most enduring symbol of ancient China – the Great Wall – snakes steeply through scenic mountains.

"You've seen it in your history books and you've read about the Great Wall and here we are climbing it. I never thought I would ever be here," said Lois Reid Johnson, violinist.

"It's magnificent, just the grandeur, and what it took to build this is mind-blowing," said baritone Daniel Narducci, tour soloist and a graduate of Indiana University, as he surveyed the expansive view.

The wall is so enormous, that one lost track of all of the musicians as they fanned out among its different sections, some more strenuous climbs than others. The weather was chilly, and a stiff wind whipped up suddenly as we were climbing down the precipitous steps. Along the way, there were the ubiquitous hawkers, selling souvenirs, watches and offering camel rides – it's true – on portions of the wall.

Principal second violinist Gabriel Pegis, of Milford, brought his whole family along, and his two daughters, ages 6 and 8, were enthralled with the toys the vendors were selling. Others, such as violinist Darla Bertolone, posed for pictures on a camel.

But most were simply awestruck to be there. Trumpeter Christopher Kiradjieff, 32, who was climbing the wall with his wife, Amy, 30, a violinist, called it "breathtaking."

"I really can’t believe I'm here. It's a place I've only thought about," said Kiradjieff.

Next: An adventuresome group strikes out for an 11K hike on a secluded portion of the Great Wall, and what other players did on their only day off.