Audiences have come to expect at least a few big spectacles at the annual Hong Kong Arts Festival: opera, ballet and preferably, a few world-famous stars performing.
“This is the first fully back-to-normal edition since the pandemic. We are bringing back advance booking since the full line-up can be confirmed by October.
“And we are bringing shows that were delayed from when the Hong Kong borders were shut, as well as new commissions and touring productions that reflect the way the world has changed in the last few year,” she says.
Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang among highlights of Hong Kong Phil’s 2023/24 season
Yo-Yo Ma, Lang Lang among highlights of Hong Kong Phil’s 2023/24 season
Big-budget showcases include the Bavarian State Opera’s version of Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, the ballet company of Milan’s Teatro alla Scala performing Le Corsaire, an immersive audiovisual experience that combines Van Gogh’s paintings with music performed by the Netherlands Chamber Choir, and an inventive combination of classical music and heavy metal by the Baltic Sea Philharmonic.
Other spectacles include Peking opera pioneer Wu Hsing-kuo’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe’s performance of the complete, 55-scene classic The Peony Pavilion.
“There are financial pressures after the pandemic. Sponsors are inevitably affected by the economic downturn and costs such as air tickets and hotels have gone up a lot.
“At the same time, the five-year, HK$40 million (US$5.1 million) [Hong Kong] government grant received by the festival in 2018 to help nurture local talent has just expired,” says Flora Yu, executive director.
Still, the festival has managed to bring over large troupes by partnering with other cities who can share the cost of an Asia tour, she says.
American multimedia artist Miwa Matreyek will appear as a shadow silhouette interacting with animation in a family-friendly performance about humans and nature.
Five-time Grammy-award winner Angélique Kidjo will be returning to Hong Kong, as well as Belgian immersive theatre Ontroerend Goed.
The festival will also feature a number of cross-border collaborations involving Hong Kong artists.
August Strindberg’s Miss Julie, adapted by Hong Kong-born, London-based playwright Amy Ng, will be transplanted to 1940s Hong Kong under the direction of Tony Wong. And the trio behind the 2021 musical The Impossible Trial are joining a director from China, He Nian, for I Am What I Am, an adaptation of a popular Chinese animated film about lion dancing that will come to the Hong Kong Arts Festival after its world premiere at the Guangzhou Opera House.
The full programme of the 52nd Hong Kong Arts Festival will be announced in October. Visit https://www.hk.artsfestival.org/ for more details.