New works planned for third NCPA opera fest
- Source: Global Times
- [20:39 March 06 2011]
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By Jiang Yuxia
The curtain goes up on the much-anticipated third annual opera festival of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) next month, with 16 opuses and over 40 internationally renowned artists from 12 countries participating in this year's biggest operatic event in Beijing.
Compared with the first two festivals, which saw popular works staged by major foreign opera houses, the NCPA Opera Festival 2011, running from April 9 to July 9, will feature more regional works produced by the center, said Li Zhixiang, director of NCPA's Business Department, at a press conference last week.
"The first festival was NCPA's try-out, the second aimed to improve, and this year's is to catch up with the world's top festivals, " Li added.
In three months, audience will not only appreciate reproductions of works presented at previous festivals, such as Bizet's Carmen and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, but also enjoy original work The Orphan of Zhao with music by Lei Lei and libretto by Zou Jingzhi, as well as NCPA reproductions of classics such as Tosca and Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus (The Bat).
To promote it to a more Chinese audience, The Bat, one of Strauss' most popular operettes, is to be directed by distinguished British theater director Stephen Lawless and sung in the original German with dialogue in Chinese. Meanwhile, Chen Peisi, one of China's most popular comedians, will play the humorous lead.
Besides these grand productions, this year's festival will also invite renowned singers to sing at the seven concert operas, including Grammy Award-winning South Korean soprano Jo Sumi, Russia-born soprano Anna Netrebko, lauded as "the reigning new diva of the 21st century" by the Associate Press, and Chinese tenor Wei Song.
As a promotion, NCPA will offer discount for the first time. Tickets bought two months ahead enjoy a 15 percent discount and for each performance it will issue 30 favorable tickets for students.
