Musical welcome to 2020
Shanghai Grand Theater is staging three concerts on the last two days of 2019 to welcome in the new year with the city’s music lovers.
Italian conductor Fabio Luisi will partner the Shanghai Opera House Orchestra and Shanghai Opera House Chorus for two classical concerts on the evening of Monday and Tuesday, both starting at 7:30pm. Tuesday’s concert will be followed by a national music concert “Seasons of the Music” to start at 10:45pm and last until after midnight.
Concerts to welcome the new year are a tradition for Shanghai Grand Theater, but this will be the first time for the venue to welcome audiences on the very first moment of the new year with Chinese music.
In “Seasons of the Music,” Shanghai-born conductor Tsung Yeh will join the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra and a handful of invited performers to present a Shanghai-style Chinese music feast. Yeh said the music will start with an evening drum and stroll through the four seasons before ending in a morning bell.
The two classical concerts will feature some of the most popular pieces.
Monday’s concert will include Rossini’s “Thieving Magpie” overture, Mozart’s “Symphony No. 35 in D Major” and Brahms’ “Symphony No. 2 in D Major.” The concert on Tuesday features Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9 in D Minor.” Artists from Shanghai Opera House Chorus will take part in the performance.
Zhang Xiaoding, the theater's general manager, said the two concerts on Tuesday will be streamed live on Tencent.
“Our big theater has a capacity of 1,600 seats. Tickets for the two December 31 concerts are almost sold out,” said Zhang. “The live streaming will make the concerts accessible to all music lovers, including Chinese citizens living overseas, who can welcome the new year with us.”
