38th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival kicks off next week
Thirty-two music concerts and 10 dance productions will be presented during the 38th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival, which runs from March 18 to April 2.
This year's festival will highlight local culture and original work by young artists. According to the organizers, new work from young artists accounts for over 40 percent of the performances.
The original choral symphony "The Land Of Rejuvenation" will raise the curtain for the festival at the Shangyin Opera House. Inspired by ancient Chinese mythology, the concert traces back to the origin of the world, highlighting the wisdom and virtues of ancient Chinese people over the long passage of time.
From left: posters for the opening concert "The Land Of Rejuvenation," Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and modern ballet "A Sigh of Love."
Over 250 performers will take part in the concert, including tenors Shi Yijie and Han Peng, as well as sopranos Fang Qiong and Xu Xiaoying.
Conductor Yu Long will lead the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra for a concert featuring Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on March 31-April 1 at the Shanghai Symphony Hall. Famed actress Sylvia Chang will join the performance.
Paganini award-winning violinist Lu Siqing will join the Major Ensemble for the concert "The Four Seasons" on March 25 at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center.
"A Sigh of Love," a Sino-France cooperation of modern ballet, will be staged at the Shanghai International Dance Center on March 31-April 1.
Zide Guqin Studio and the Rainbow Chamber Singers will also give performances.
Other recommended dance performances include the Shanghai Dance Theater's two signature productions "The Eternal Wave" and "Crested Ibises," and the Gansu Provincial Song and Dance Theater's dance drama "Flower Rain on The Silk Road."
Popular performing troupes including Zide Guqin Studio and the Rainbow Chamber Singers will also perform shows.
Apart from the performances, the festival also involves an accordion culture festival, an original folk music composition collection activity, as well as cultural education exhibitions by five Shanghai music colleges.
An open-air concert "Sound From the Sea·City of People" will bring the festival to an end on April 2.
