Canadian tenor Richard Margison is to sing the romantic lead in Turandot. (Henry Grossman)
Zaha Hadid's design for the Guangzhou Opera House, which opens Thursday. (Zaha Hadid Architects)
Canadian tenor Richard Margison is to sing the romantic lead in Turandot. (Henry Grossman)Canadian tenor Richard Margison will sing his signature role of Calaf in Turandot to open the new opera house in the Chinese city of Guangzhou Thursday evening.
The southern Chinese city is celebrating the opening with a performance of Puccini's opera under the baton of American conductor Lorin Maazel.
Margison is known for his ability to hit high C in Turandot, the story of how a prince wins over an icy-hearted Chinese princess.
This Turnadot is the Reina Sof a's production of Giacomo Puccini's opera set in China, which premiered on May 24, 2008, as part of the Festival del Mediterrani
The opera house, with an 1,800-seat performance hall, has been designed by celebrity architect Zaha Hadid of Britain and Iraq. Hadid is a previous winner of the Pritzker Prize for architecture.
The huge multi-purpose building, set beside the Pearl River, is reported to cost more than USD120 million US.
Zaha Hadid's design for the Guangzhou Opera House, which opens Thursday. (Zaha Hadid Architects)It is scheduled to be the venue for more than 200 dance, theatre and opera performances a year, including an arts festival that is to begin May 10, right after the official opening.
The opera house sits on a site close to the downtown core that will also house a museum and tourist park.
Hadid's design has a rock-like roof that emerges from the riverside and thrusting glass walls enforced with structural steel.
It was scheduled for opening in December 2009, but the building was delayed by a fire on the site last May.
Chinese opera remains popular in the mainland, but there is hunger for a wider range of cultural events in its burgeoning cities.
Guangzhou, located about 120 kilometres northwest of Hong Kong, is the capital of Guangdong province and home to 11.8 million people.
The southern Chinese city is celebrating the opening with a performance of Puccini's opera under the baton of American conductor Lorin Maazel.
Margison is known for his ability to hit high C in Turandot, the story of how a prince wins over an icy-hearted Chinese princess.
This Turnadot is the Reina Sof a's production of Giacomo Puccini's opera set in China, which premiered on May 24, 2008, as part of the Festival del Mediterrani
The opera house, with an 1,800-seat performance hall, has been designed by celebrity architect Zaha Hadid of Britain and Iraq. Hadid is a previous winner of the Pritzker Prize for architecture.
The huge multi-purpose building, set beside the Pearl River, is reported to cost more than USD120 million US.
Zaha Hadid's design for the Guangzhou Opera House, which opens Thursday. (Zaha Hadid Architects)It is scheduled to be the venue for more than 200 dance, theatre and opera performances a year, including an arts festival that is to begin May 10, right after the official opening.
The opera house sits on a site close to the downtown core that will also house a museum and tourist park.
Hadid's design has a rock-like roof that emerges from the riverside and thrusting glass walls enforced with structural steel.
It was scheduled for opening in December 2009, but the building was delayed by a fire on the site last May.
Chinese opera remains popular in the mainland, but there is hunger for a wider range of cultural events in its burgeoning cities.
Guangzhou, located about 120 kilometres northwest of Hong Kong, is the capital of Guangdong province and home to 11.8 million people.
