A tale of two cities

Three of Leipzig's oldest cultural establishments gather at the Hong Kong Arts Festival for a week-long residency. Leipzig Opera, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and St Thomas Boys Choir (Thomanerchor) come together to showcase the German city's rich musical tradition with six performances of masterpieces that are close to their hearts, exploring their special relationship with longtime associates and famous Leipzigers J S Bach and Richard Wagner.

18, 20 March 2011
Grand Theatre, HK Cultural Centre

A princess falls in love with her betrothed's killer
A knight falls in love with his king’s bride
Between honour and desire
Love lives only in death

Any fully staged Wagner opera is a major event. Almost 150 years after its premiere, Tristan und Isolde finally comes to Hong Kong.

Leading musical institutions from Wagner’s birthplace, Leipzig, join hands to realise this masterpiece of German Romanticism which is considered one of the most visceral expressions of romantic love in any art form. Leipzig Opera partner with their long-time collaborator Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra to create Wagner’s rich, surging soundscape, in a production by the sought-after director Willy Decker.

Tristan und Isolde is a sensuous, profound operatic experience that resonates and remains with you long after the final note is played.

Performed in German with English and Chinese surtitles