Int’l collaboration makes headline opera performance

The Macao Orchestra

According to the statement issued by the IC, the festival will kick off with its “own production,” joining forces with the internationally-renowned Italian stage director Giancarlo del Monaco and set and costume designer William Orlandi, to present Giacomo Puccini’s opera “Turandot.”
With its story and characters set in China, “Turandot” is one of the few western operas depicting the country. The opera recounts the story of the romance of life and death between Chinese Princess Turandot and Prince Calaf of Tartary.
The opera is notable for its costumes and sets, which represent a Western imagination of China, “resulting in a far-fetched, problematic representation,” reads the festival’s official program.
A talk will also be held at the festival, titled “Interpreting Chinese Elements in ‘Turandot’,” and delivered in Cantonese by Chow Fan Fu. Chow is a renowned Hong Kong art critic and columnist on issues of culture and music, who is currently serving as the vice president for the International Association of Theatre Critics in Hong Kong.