This year’s 31st Macao International Music Festival flourishes under the theme “Rising Stars”. It aims to learn from the past and march into the future. Innovation is the key to art development. There are pioneers who create unique works in music history, such as Igor Stravinsky’s avant-garde “The Rite of Spring”, Niccolò Paganini’s groundbreaking violin solos, and Gustav Mahler’s large-scale “Symphony of a Thousand”. Some have become classics while others defined an era, yet they all reflect the overpowering new talents and the radiant glamour of new models.
While savoring the beauty of classics, the festival gives off an overwhelming power of radiance to the Macao audience. Featuring works presented by dazzling young talents, a reinterpretation of classics, grand productions brought by internationally famous ensembles, and orchestras and the local productions, the festival journeys into a brilliant new era of vivacity!
This year’s festival features 17 programs. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Umberto Giordano, the festival opens with Giordano’s best-known opera “Andrea Chénier”. Beloved for its touching arias and exquisite orchestration, “Andrea Chénier” is a passionate love story written in the style of verismo. Lyric tragedy “Orfeo ed Euridice” by Christoph Willibald Gluck will be staged outdoors at Mount Fortress. Local opera production, “A Fragrant Dream”, will be remade with a polished script, refined libretto, and a starry line-up. Budding international talents such as Russian-Lithuanian pianist Lukas Geniušas and South Korea’s leading ensemble Novus String Quartet, as well as local talents in the third cycle of the “Bravo Macao!” concert series will grace the stage at the Festival.
A number of world-renowned ensembles and orchestras will appear on stage at this year’s festival. The distinguished Vienna Philharmonic will be performing a resounding finale, while the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen will delight its audience with a night of Beethoven. Other famous musicians and ensembles include Chen’s erhu family, rising jazz star Jazzmeia Horn, fresh electronic musician el fog, the acclaimed Coro Lirico Siciliano, the joyous South African ensemble Soweto Gospel Choir and Hong Kong singer William So.
When: September 29–October 30, 2017
Where: Macao Cultural Center, Dom Pedro V Theater, Old Court Building, Mount Fortress, St. Dominic’s Church
How much: MOP $150–MOP $1500
For more ticket details, visit www.icm.gov.mo, www.macauticket.com
