Dear Friends,
It is a pleasure and priviledge to present details of the 38th Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2010, contained in this website. This is an upbeat Festival, with lots to enjoy. The entire team at the HKAF hopes to see you at many performances.
As you will see, we present six orchestras: three visiting orchestras led by legendary conductors Christoph von Dohnányi, Valery Gergiev and René Jacobs, and our own Philharmonic Orchestra, Chinese Orchestra and Sinfonietta with the trio of Hong Kong's Music Directors, de Waart, Yan and Yip.
Maestro Gergiev's visit deserves special mention as he comes to us with the combined strength of the Mariinsky Theatre, showcasing its great tradition in ballet with the spectacular Don Quixote and its internationalism in opera with the award-winning The Turn of the Screw.
Combined forces also feature in the Festival's collaboration with the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong in three Cantonese opera evenings of major iconic works, each preceeded by a rarely performed Set Piece. This is an event of historic significance, not least because Cantonese Opera is now officially on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. In addition to Cantonese Opera, we are also delighted to present three great kun opera programmes.
In chamber music, we present great masters Mikhail Rudy and Andreas Scholl; rising stars Meta4, Simone Osborne and Wong Chi-yan; plus performers who never fail to excite and entertain: Mark Latimer, Li Chuanyun and King's Harmonica Quintet. There is a wealth of jazz and world music, ranging from Argentinian tango and flamenco with attitude, to David Murray Black Saint Quartet and Guy Barker's The Amadeus Project, by way of the inimitable Sa Dingding, and a quartet of extraordinary vocalists who "Sing the Truth".
In theatre we offer names to conjure with: Steven Berkoff, Sam Mendes, Lin Zhaohua, Pai Hsien-yung and Ivan Heng; and from the local pantheon: Fredric Mao and Danny Yung, with Lee Chun-chow and Wong Wing-sze in collaboration; as well as outstanding young companies chelfitsch and Red Leap.
From the driving rhythms of Paganini at the IFC to the elegiac strains of naamyam in the tranquil Nan Lian Garden; listening to Chopin or Samson Young's electronic game music in former industrial sites in Quarry Bay and Kwun Tong; and in over a hundred performances in major venues on either side of the harbour, this Festival is reflective of Hong Kong in its diversity and its energy. Also, much of the work presented in this Festival is informed by a sense of possibility – of what might be in a better, brighter world. We hope that you will come experience this with us in many performances starting February 25.
Ticket bookings can be made directly at this website. If you book before 27 November, 2009, there is an early bird discount of up to 15%. For details, please click here.
We look forward to seeing you at the Festival.
Tisa Ho
Executive Director
