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LIFE CULTURE CHINA DAILY TUESDAY JULY 29, 2008 Beijing 2008 will be about far more than athletes and medals. The city is also hosting a series of concerts by many of the world’s leading opera singers. Chen Jie reports

Starry, starry

nights

Cameroonian ballet meets Argentine tango Gala of Africa

, a showcase of the continent’s rich heritage, will be staged at the Great Hall of the People tonight. File photo

Passing the baton in Beijing

Erich Kunzel, conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra.American soprano Renee Fleming South Korean soprano Sumi Jo German tenor Jonas Kaufmann Swiss-Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra

Italian tenor Marcello Giordani Mexican tenor Ramon Vargas Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu By Chen Jie Under the celebrated baton of Erich Kunzel, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra will perform twice in Beijing as part of the 2008 Summer Olympics festivities. The Cincinnati Pops will be the only American orchestra fea-tured during the opening weekend.The special program will include music that has been written for previous Ol-ympic Games, including the rousing song Medley for Peace in the World . Broadway vocalists Steven Morgan and Michael Scott Lowe will lend their talents to the tour. A children’s choir from Beijing will also join the orches-tra onstage.“It is incredibly humbling to be asked to perform as part of the prestigious Olympic Opening Weekend ceremonies. It is a great honor for the city of Cincinnati, and indeed for the United States of America,” says Kunzel. “It is like a dream come true to cel-ebrate athletic talent and musical talent across cultures.” In 2005, Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra made history by becoming the first US Pops orchestra to per-form in the Great Hall of the People. The upcoming Beijing shows are part of his fourth tour in China.The Cincinnati Pops is one of the world’s busiest ensembles, maintaining a year-round performing and record-ing schedule. Kunzel has recorded 83 Cincinnati Pops releases on the Telarc label, 55 of which have made Bill-board’s chart of best-selling recordings. Kunzel joined the orchestra in 1965. More than four decades later, the Cincinnati Pops Orches-tra, under its ? rst and only conductor, is still performing for packed houses in Cincinnati’s Music Hall.The ? rst performance will be given at the new National Center for the Performing Arts on Au-gust 9. The second performance will be an outdoor concert on the Olympic Green at the Olympic Grounds the next evening, hosted by the Organizing Committee of Beijing Olympic Games. Admis-sion is free.By Chen Nan The Olympic ? ame and the sticky summer weather aren’t the only things heating up Beijing this sea-son. Three musical shows coming soon to the Great Hall of the People promise to add yet more sizzle to the summer.The ? rst is Gala Africa , which will be staged tonight. More than 10 African musical troupes will highlight the continent’s rich and rhythmic artistic heritage.Li Yayuan, the choreographer of the China Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble, is the show’s de-signer. An expert on African art, Li’s unique choreography draws inspiration from the religious rituals of Cameroon, Senegal and Tanzania, as well as the tradi-tional dancing and singing styles of Mauritius, Rwanda and Kenya. The lavish set draws upon African sculptural and painting styles.Modern dances — Black is Beautiful and On the Other Side of the Cloud — will be performed by the National Dance Company of Cameroon. Ballet National du Senegal will perform traditional music and dance from West Africa. Other performers include a group called The Drum Café, which was started in 1996 and has since established itself as the authority on traditional African percussion music.Another heat wave about to hit the city is Night of Latin America , which will come to the Great Hall of the People on August 1 and 2.Six dance companies from Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Peru and Cuba will perform the passionate moves of popular Latin American dances, including tango and samba.Argentine tango, which evokes power and grace, has been thrilling dancers and audiences for more than 100 years. The Argentine Tango Passion Dance Company will showcase the ? nest past and present traditions of tango culture. Dancers will also update traditional steps with the addition of modern electronic music.Another highlight will be the performance of traditional Andean music, a colorful fusion of South American ? utes, Andean string instruments and diverse percussion https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a76839911.html,st but not least, Cuban music has its principal roots in Spain and West Africa, but over time has absorbed musical in? uences from many different countries. Cuban music has likewise been immensely in? uential in other countries, contributing not only to the develop-ment of jazz and salsa, but also to Argentina tango, Ghanaian high-life, West African Afrobeat, and Spanish Nuevo ? amenco.At the end of the summer, audi-ences can look forward to Night of Asia , presented at Beizhan Theater on Sept 6.The show will feature more than 100 pop stars from across Asia — including Sa Dingding from China, Rain from South Korea, Shinji Tanimura from Japan, and Dydia from Thailand. The concert venue will be decorated with artwork from Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand. Multimedia perform-ances will also enhance this stun-ning three-dimensional portrait of modern Asia.O n June 23, 2001 (World Olympic Day), Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras, the Three Tenors performed at the Forbidden City, using their heavenly high Cs to express their support for Beijing’s bid to host the 2008 Games. Now, as the big event draws near, the city once again prepares to host a true A-list cast of world opera performers.As one of the highlights of the Meet in Beijing 2008 Olympic Arts Festival, the Divas in Beijing concert series will feature Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu and Sumi Jo. Other concerts starring new-generation tenors Marcello Giordani, Salvatore Licitra, Roman Vargas, Jonas Kaufmann and baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky will also be given at the National Center for the Performing Arts and the Great Hall of the People.The divas and tenors gala concerts will be a feast for both local opera fans and international visitors to Beijing.“We’ve presented lots of shows and exhibi-tions in the last two months to celebrate the Olympic Games,” says Zhang Yu, general man-ager of China Arts and Entertainment Group, the company organizing the Meet in Beijing 2008 Olympic Arts Festival.“As the event gets closer, the Arts Festival is reaching its peak and more spectacular perform-ances will run.“It is a challenge to bring these world’s best sopranos and tenors together. Fortunately, they have shown great interest in performing in Beijing during the special time. I believe the divas and tenors concerts will highlight the cultural calendar of the Beijing Olympic Games,” Zhang says.P romoter Rick Garson says the concerts will perfectly complement the sports. “In the daytime, people can cheer for the world’s best athletes and in the evening, they can enjoy performances from the best singers in the world.”Garson certainly has the pedigree — he has been staging the biggest TV entertainment events in the US for years.Superstar Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu will kick off the Divas In Beijing series at the Great Hall of the People on August 7, the night before the Games opening ceremony.Accompanied by the China National Sympho-ny Orchestra, under the baton of young French conductor Emmanuel Villaume, the glamorous soprano will sing arias from Puccini’s Madame Butter? y , Bizet’s Carmen , Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino and popular arts songs.“As a Romanian artist I have always consid-ered myself as a world citizen thanks to the gift I received and which I want to share with the whole world,” says Gheorghiu, who performed at the 2008 New Year concert with the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing. “I feel hon-ored to return to China on the occasion of the Olympic Games.”Gheorghiu will be followed by the rising South Korean coloratura soprano Sumi Jo, who will sing at the National Center for the Performing Arts on August 11, her ? rst visit to Beijing. Her program includes Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet , Rossini’s Barber of Seville and a variety of Korean songs.Praised for the remarkable agility, precision and warmth of her voice, Jo has established herself as one of her generation’s most sought-after sopranos.The South Korean diva is looking forward to performing in Beijing. “I love the idea of combin-ing the talents from the world’s different regions and I am proud to be singing at such a historic event in Asia, my home region,” says Jo, who will return to Beijing to sing with the China Philharmonic O rchestra at the Beijing Music Festival in October.American soprano Renee Fleming will per-form two gala concerts, sharing the stage with Sumi Jo, the German tenor Jonas Kaufmann and the Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky at the Great Hall of the People on August 14 and then signing with Kaufmann at the National Center for the Performing Arts on August 16.B etween the divas’ concerts, the three next-generation tenors — Ramon Vargas, Marcello Giordani and Salvatore Licitra — will perform at the Great Hall of the People on August 13.Mexican lyric tenor Vargas, 48, won ? rst prize in the Enrico Caruso Competition in Milan in 1986. In true operatic tradition, he shot to stardom by replacing a big-name star — in his case he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Lucia di Lammermoor in 1993, replacing Luciano Pavarotti. The critics and media described his debut as a “phenomenal success”.Hailed as an extraordinarily versatile art-ist, and in demand by the world’s major opera houses and symphony orchestras, the Sicilian-born tenor Marcello Giordani has a true spinto voice with his ? awless breath control and a bright, ringing top.Forty-year-old Swiss-Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra has been dubbed the “New Pavarotti” since his debut in 1998. This trio of tenors will perform solos, duets and trios, while Licitra has even prepared a spe-cial Chinese song for his Beijing concert.