Best bets

SHOWS

Aida Opera by Giuseppe Verdi 2017

Date: Sept 8-10－8 pm

Venue: Guangzhou Opera House

Price: 280-2,280 yuan

Aida is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in Egypt, it was commissioned by and first performed at Cairo's Khedivial Opera House on 24 December 1871; Giovanni Bottesini conducted after Verdi himself withdrew. Today the work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world; at New York's Metropolitan Opera alone, Aida has been sung more than 1,100 times since 1886. Ghislanzoni's scheme follows a scenario often attributed to the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette, but Verdi biographer Mary Jane Phillips-Matz argues that the source is actually Temistocle Solera.

Contact: 010-6655-0000

Pablo Amoros Piano Recital

Date: June 11－7:30 pm

Venue: Guangzhou Xinghai Concert Hall

Price: 80-280 yuan

Temperamental, elegant and charismatic Spanish pianist from Cordoba (Andalusia). The enormous power of communication of his performance catches the listener's attention immediately, leading him to discover his profound creative sensitivity. The astonishing originality of his artistic renderings emerges from an incessant interest in exploring the piano repertoire, ranging from Bach and Mozart, through Brahms, Schumann and Rachmaninoff, to Spanish contemporary music. In his programs he always looks for a connection between classic and contemporary works, developing a discourse of interrelation. It has recently been released his first CD for the NAXOS label, a world premiere recording of the complete piano works of the composer Leonardo Balada, one of which ("Mini-miniatures") is dedicated to Pablo Amoros. He went to London to improve his musical training with the renowned piano teacher Noretta Conci, a pupil of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Back in Spain, he completed his training with Alicia de Larrocha and with the Spanish pianist Cristina Bruno, a key figure in his personal and artistic development.

Contact: 010-6655-0000

The Golden Horn Crossing the Ocean: The Rodney Marsalis Philadelpha Big Brass

Date: July 23－8 pm

Venue: Guangzhou Opera House

Price: 80-480 yuan

The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass is composed of some of America's top brass musicians dedicated to bringing the joyous experience of great music to a wide range of audiences. It is a family owned and operated business that had its beginnings on the streets of New Orleans. On the advice of Ellis Marsalis, the group created a concert format that breaks the usual barriers between genres and strives to create connection between the audience and performers. A group that always reflects the diverse makeup of men and women in the American culture, RMPBB is dedicated to the notion that music is a gift to be enjoyed by everyone. The group is especially dedicated to reaching out to the world's youth and inspiring them to reach for their dreams. A veritable "dream team" of virtuoso brass players, associate artists have appeared on the world's most prominent stages and performed with such groups as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Baltimore Symphony, the S?o Paolo State Symphony Orchestra, the Imani Winds, Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, Dallas Brass, and Boston Brass.

Contact: 400-610-3721

NCPA Drama Returning Home on a Snowy Night

Date: June 3-11－7 pm

Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts

Price: 180-680 yuan

This drama is named after a line from the poem Staying at a Cottage of Mt. Hibiscus on a Night of Snow of the Tang Dynasty: "When the mountains lurk dim in the pale dark, the cottage of shabby looks stands lone in twilight. By the wattle gate now I hear dogs loudly bark, the master has come home in the snow of night." Wu Zuguang, the playwright, described the joys and sorrows of the famous actor named Wei Liansheng in the historical context where people were swaying in the midst of a raging storm. He has experienced both the prosperity of being popular in early years and hard times of despair. The love story between him and Yuchun, a concubine of the bureaucrat named Su Hongji is just a sad melody that costs their lives.

Contact: 400-610-3721

Music Garden Blame It on The Boogie Wishful Singing Female A Cappella

Date: June 18－8 pm

Venue: Beijing Comedy Theater

Price: 180-380 yuan

A female a cappella performance by Wishful Singing is an exuberant journey packed with highlights and surprises. Five classically trained female singers combine their flexible voices and powerful stage presentation in their own unique way. Seemingly effortless and simple, every gesture and every sound used to good effect, adventurous from beginning to end. The singers sang together in the Netherlands Youth Choir. They hit it off so well there that the ambition developed to continue together in female a cappella repertoire; a relatively rare genre very dear to the hearts of all five. The top quality displayed since by Wishful Singing－both aurally and visually－makes the ensemble unique in the world. The repertoire ranges from modest works from the Renaissance and Baroque eras to swinging versions of golden oldies such as Mister Sandman. The ensemble provides a full evening's entertainment that leads the audience from one surprise to the next. The emotions summoned up vary from hushed poignancy to screams of laughter. The individual quality of each singer is shown to full advantage in the group's collective intonation and balance. It is this, in combination with their sense of timing, plus their talent for wry comedy, that makes Wishful Singing so prominent in their field. The ensemble performs regularly in Dutch concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at foreign festivals such as the prestigious City of London Festival.

Contact: 010-6655-0000

Gloriously Broadway－Sister Act in Guangzhou

Date: July 26-Aug 6－8 pm

Venue: Guangzhou Opera House

Price: 180-980 yuan

A newly revised adaptation of the show opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on April 20, 2011, after previews beginning March 24, 2011. Jerry Zaks was the new director with Douglas Carter Beane rewriting the book. The show received multiple Tony Award nominations for the 2011 season, including for Best Musical, Best Actress in a Musical (Miller) and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Clark). The production closed on Aug 26, 2012 after 28 previews and 561 performances. Sister Act is a musical written by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and music by Alan Menken. It is based on the hit 1992 film comedy of the same name. The 2009 West End production was produced by Stage Entertainment, Whoopi Goldberg, and Michael Reno for Sis Acts LLC. Goldberg is a producer of the 2011 Broadway adaptation.

Contact: 010-6655-0000

The Deutsches Theater in Berlin－The Visit

Date: July 5-8－8 pm

Venue: NCPA

Price: 100-580 yuan

The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a theatrical institution with a permanent and highly-acclaimed ensemble. The Deutsches Theater repertoire comprises some 50 productions. Each season the DT celebrates some 30 premieres－around twelve on the main stage and eight in the Kammerspiele. Signature productions, ongoing collaborations with established and up-and-coming directors, and faith in the abilities of his spirited and talented ensemble: these are the cornerstones of Ulrich Khuon's artistic concept for the Deutsches Theater. Khuon has brought on board directors with distinctive directing styles, including: Andreas Kriegenburg, Stephan Kimmig, Nicolas Stemann, Jette Steckel, and Dimiter Gotscheff, who died in 2014. The theatre's repertoire includes both classics and modern classics by writers such as Bertolt Brecht, Chekhov, Goethe, Gerhart Hauptmann, Friedrich Hebbel, Heinrich von Kleist, Friedrich Schiller, Shakespeare and Frank Wedekind. At the same time, the DT stages works by contemporary playwrights like Dea Loher, Roland Schimmelpfennig and Elfriede Jelinek－including many world premieres.

Contact: 400-610-3721