Tuesday 20 September 2011

The 13th Shanghai International Arts Festival To Open Next Month

The 13th Shanghai International Arts Festival will take place from 18 October to 18 November, featuring more than 50 stage performances from home and abroad of music, dance, and drama

The performing arts fair, arts forum, mass activities, and exhibitions will also be held during the festival.

"Grand Dance Drama Goddess And  The Dreamer" presented by Zhengzhou Song & Dance Theatre opens the festival while Chinese premiere Ballet "The Taming of the Shrew" by Bayerisches Staatsballett closes the festival.

The festival will present 50 events (27 abroad, 23 home) featuring concerts by top orchestras such as Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, eZurich Tonhalle Orchestra under the baton of David Zinman, Italian Conductor Ricardo Muti with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, a recital by Violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Berliner Philharmoniker Concert
The Berliner Philharmoniker is one of the finest orchestras in the world. Founded in 1882, the orchestra had top conductors of the world as its principal conductor and art director, such as Nikisch£¬Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan and so forth. Sir Simon Rattle is the chief conductor at present. The orchestra has a wide repertoire, including a large number of classical and modern works. The orchestra will bring to the Chinese audience Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso£¬Bruckner's Symphony No.9 in D Minor, and Hosokavwa's Concerto for Horn and Orchestra-Moment of Blossoming (Soloist: Stefan Dohr£¬Principal Horn).

Violinist Itzhak Perlman Recital
Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely for a classical musician. Due to the poliomyelitis he suffered when he was only four, he could only perform while sitting, which, however, didn't affect incomparable music of heaven made by his flexible hands. With rich music tone and unique style, he has his own understanding about music. He has garnered many awards, including Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance, Best Instrumental Soloist Performance and so on.  The solo recital includes Mozart¡¯ Sonata for violin & piano in B-flat major, K. 454, Beethoven's Sonata for violin & piano No.7 in C minor(Eroica), Op. 30/2, and Saint-Saens'Sonata for violin & piano No. 1 in d minor, Op.75. In the recital, the piano accompanist will be Ron Da Silva.

Ricardo Muti with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra concert
World-renowned Maestro Ricardo Muti, together with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, will present a concert of Mahler's vocal music to commemorate this romanticist master. Mahler's art songs and symphonies usually take advantage of folk songs and tales and feature vivid contents, emotions and images, thus rendering the light genre of art songs deep meanings. One of the most revered maestros in the European classical music world, Ricardo Muti is the artistic director of Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Rome Opera House. Boasting of a wide repertoire, he is not only accomplished in Italian works, but also erudite in German and Austrian classics and works of Mahler.  This concert will  include  Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759 (Unfinished), Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer£¬Mozart's Symphony No.41 in C Major, and K551 (Jupiter) .


Dance features will include the Bejart Ballet Lausanne brings World Premiered for CSIAF "The Temptation of Life", the hejiang Hongyi Movie & Television Culture Company, the Hangzhou Theatre will premiere Chinese Original Musical Theatre "The Broken Bridge", the Shanghai Municipal Performing Co. Ltd. will premiere Grand Original Stage Theatre "The Nutcracker & the Dream on the Sea" and many more.

A Special Ballet World Premiered for CSIAF by Bejart Ballet Lausanne 
(The Temptation of Life, Dionysus Suite and Bolero)
The Bejart Ballet Lausanne is a top-flight ballet company based in Switzerland, which enjoys an international reputation. The founder Maurice Bejart is one of the greatest choreographers of our time known for his distinctive features and strong artistic influence. The current artistic director Gil Roman once won the highest honor of Monaco Dance Forum, the Nijinsky Award winner. A specially commissioned ballet The Temptation of Life would have its world premiere in the 13th CSIAF, which is filled with the explorations of interpretation, temptation and charm of life. In addition, the company will bring Bolero, the internationally famous classic of modern ballet, and Dionysus Suite, in which the costume is designed by the international fashion design master Versace.

The Taming of the Shrew by Bayerische Staatsballet
Founded in 1818, The Bayerische Staatsballet in Munich is the exclusive ballet of the M¨¹nchen Staatstheater. The company is well known for its excellent arts performances and its rich accumulation for repertoires. "The Taming of the Shrew" is one of the most successful ballet comedies in history, it is praised as: "A show which changes world theatrical ballet". It was created in 1969 by famous Choreography master John Cranko, a Bayerisches Staatsballett adaptation based on William Shakespeare's eponymous comedy; its music is a Kurt-Heinz Stolze adaptation from the original works of Domenico Scarlatti. The humorous and lively scene, ludicrous acts£¬well-rounded portrayal of characters and complicated plot made it a unique classic work on ballet stage, which is totally different with the aesthetical and romantic traditional ballet.  Under the artistic director Ivan Liska's guidance, the Bayerische Staatsballett has achieved more success than ever and gradually developed into a distinctive company characterized by the integration of 19th century classical ballet, modern ballet and avant-garde style. In 2007, the Bavarian State Ministry awarded Liska with the medal for special devotion he made for Bavaria in the European Union. And in 2008, he received the "Outstanding Contribution Prize for Cultural Exchange" by the Chinese Ministry of Culture for his contribution to the cultural exchange between China and Europe.

Grand Dance Drama "Goddess and the Dreamer" by Zhengzhou Song & Dance Theatre
Zhengzhou Song & Dance Theatre was established in 2004, the youngest of its kind in China. The original grand dance drama Goddess and the Dreamer has a production team comprised of national first-class artists and portrays Luoshen, the goddess of love and beauty, in the form of dance drama. Based on the 3rd century poet Prince Cao Zhi¡¯s well-known poetic prose Luoshen Fu, this drama presents two brothers' love stories and their struggle for power in the royal court, and the beautiful Zhen Mi. This drama is composed by Feng Shuangbai, the winner of the Cao Yu Opera Award and the Wenhua Grand Award and will be directed by Tong Ruirui, the winner of the Excellent Librettos of National Stage Work Program.

There will be many acclaimed drama performances at the Festival present by local Chinese and overseas drama companies.

German Drama Red Red Shoes by Consol Theater
Adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's The Red Shoes, the heroine Franvera of this story is a light-hearted and carefree child who always dreams of being a dancer. One day she gets a pair of very special shoes from her parents as a gift: red dancing shoes. Single-mindedly pursuing her dream, she barely sees the dark clouds gathering around her. Her parents whisper secretly and her best friend Anna is not allowed to play with her anymore. Mysteries befall Franvera one after another. Directed by Andrea Kramer, Red Red Shoes is the winner of many awards, including Lichtblicke 2007 from the Theatre Festival in Numnberg.

Opera Butterfly Lovers by the Sea of Blood Opera Troupe of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Following A Dream of Red Mansions, the Sea Blood Opera Troupe of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea produces and presents another Chinese classic, Butterfly Lovers. The Opera Troupe has been awarded the highest honor of the DPRK Kim Il-Sung's Medal of Honor. Adapted from the love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, a tale known in every household in China for thousands of years, this opera version is of highest artistic quality in every aspect, from the stage design to the costumes, and combined with Korea's unique stereoscopic stage technology, musical style and singspiel. The director is Chae Myeong-Suk, a People's Artist who has directed the opera A Dream of Red Mansions, and the choreographer is Kim Mok-yong, another Peoples Artist who has choreographed the grand group calisthenics Arirang.

"The Magic Nutcracker" premieres 13th China Shanghai International Arts Festival
The Grand Stage Show "The Magic Nutcracker" by Shanghai Municipal Performing Co. Ltd will premiere at the newly established Culture Square in November as a great stage production in the 2011 13th China Shanghai International Arts Festival. Creative e producer is Ric Birch,  who has produced the Sydney, Barcelona and Los Angeles Olympic Game opening ceremonies. He also he acted as consultant for opening ceremony of Shanghai EXPO 2010. Based on Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, The Magic Nutcracker is about Mary, a girl of mixed Chinese and German descent who has a talent for dancing and keeps on her pursuit of and longings for love and dancing at her puberty. The show interprets and presents the original Nutcracker in a modern and colorful way by combining the Western and Eastern traditional forms of art such as magic, acrobatics and ballet, as well as by utilizing the stage setting and acoustic, optic and electric technology.

The preferential tickets will be on sale on Oct 9.

For more information see the website  http://www.artsbird.com/newweb13en/festival.php

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