 | Design:Victor Hugo Marreiros / Vong Vai Meng
 | Design:Victor Hugo Marreiros / Nono Leong Chi Hang / Vong Vai Meng
“My motherland and I are bound eternally, …My motherland and I are as sea and wave.” Renowned Chinese baritone Liao Chang Yong’s rendition of these moving lyrics delighted the audience at the Opening Ceremony of this year’s Shanghai International Arts Festival. His rich voice was broadcast over national television reaching into the hearts of the Chinese people. Concertgoers in Macao will have the privilege of hearing Liao Chang Yong sing the same work on the evening of 20th December 2001 in the high point of Macao’s 2nd Handover Anniversary celebrations. Liao Chang Yong is regarded as an outstanding young baritone, and has been hailed by Placido Domingo as “A great singer!… A talent of the younger generation”. In 1997 Liao Chang Yong carried off top prize in the Operalia Competition founded by the famous Spanish tenor with whom he performed in a concert in January this year at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. He has taken the lead role in The Tales of Hoffmann and Don Quixote at the Washington Opera House.  This year’s Handover Anniversary Concert brings together a host of well-known figures from the world of music. In addition to Liao Chang Yong presenting excerpts from The Barber of Seville and Un Ballo in Maschera, renowned maestro Hu Yong Yan, Austrian pianist Chen Rueibin, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, and the Macao Chamber Orchestra will all appear in a programme guaranteed to thrill Macao’s public.
Chinese-American conductor Hu Yong Yan formerly held the position of Music Director of the St.Louis Symphony Orchestra, and is now Principal Music Director of the Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra. He ranks amongst a select group of internationally renowned Chinese conductors. He will conduct three much-loved overtures in the concert, namely Carnaval Overture (Dvorak); the overture to The Barber of Seville (G. Rossini); and to the opera Rienzi (R.Wagner). Chen Rueibin, born in Tainan, Taiwan, has performed frequently on European stages,and his technique and interpretation have been much admired by audiences there and in Taiwan. In this, his first performance in the Macao SAR, he will perform Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor. The “My Motherland and I” concert will be held at the Cultural Centre at 8:00 pm on 20th December 2001. Tickets are on sale at Kong Seng Ticketing Outlets at MOP $60, $90, and $120. There is a 50% discount for the purchase of four or more tickets.For further information, please telephone 555555.  |  |  | | Liao Chang Yong | Rucibin Chen | Yong-Yan Hu |
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The Opening Ceremony of the exhibition of “Paintings and Calligraphy by Members of the CPPCC” (the Chinese People’s Political and Consultative Conference) took place at the Macao Art Museum on 3rd December 2001. The CPPCC Art Studio and the Cultural Institute jointly sponsored this exhibition to markthe 2nd Anniversary of Macao’s Handover. On display were over 50 works of artby 25 CPPCC members, including Qi Gong, Shen Peng, Shao Hua-Ze, Jin Shang-Yi,Bai Xue-Shi, He Jia-Ying, and others. The CPPCC has a long tradition of pride in the artistic talents of its members, and the calligraphy, Chinese paintings and oil paintings selected for exhibition in Macao were all masterpieces. Attending the Opening Ceremony were Mr. Edmund Ho, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR, Ma Man Kei and Luo Hao Cai, Vice Chairmen of the CPPCC, and Liu Ming Qi, Vice-Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR. Also in attendance at the Opening Ceremony were Yuan Tao,Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Macao, Dr. Fernando Chui, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Chui Tak Kei, Vice President of the Macao Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and Ms. Heidi Ho, President of the Cultural Institute. The exhibition was open to the public until 9 December 2001.
