Organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), the 33rd Macao Arts Festival (MAF) will be launched this Friday (28 April), with the opening ceremony to be held at 7:40pm on the same day in the lobby of the Macao Cultural Centre, followed by the grand opening programme Rite of Spring. A limited number of tickets for some MAF programmes is still available for purchase at the Macau Ticketing Network, and tickets for the Multimedia Full-length Cantonese Opera Bonds of Hato and On Substance of Time to be staged at the Sands Theatre are also on sale through Cotai Ticketing.
The Festival kicks off with Rite of Spring by renowned Chinese dancer Yang Liping. After three years of polishing, the work innovatively combines oriental philosophy, symbols and aesthetics, and will impress the audience with spectacular stage effects. The programme will be staged at 8pm on 28 and 29 April at the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium, for which a limited number of tickets is still available.
The Zhen Hua Sing Cantonese Opera Association transformed the harrowing memories of Typhoon Hato into the Multimedia Full-length Cantonese Opera Bonds of Hato, seeking to eulogise Macao people’s nobility and love for the city. The opera will be held on the evenings of 29 and 30 April, and a pre-show talk will be held at 3pm on 30 April in the Reflections Multi-Function Room, 6th Floor, Sands Macao. Cantonese opera master Chu Chan Wa will share the creative process of the production Bonds of Hato with the audience and introduce the highlights of this contemporary Cantonese opera.
On the evening of 5 May, in the production On Substance of Time by the Portuguese Contemporary Dance Company, two internationally acclaimed Portuguese choreographers will transform verses into dance routines, making lives sparkle through the dancers’ body movements. The dance company will also hold the “Talk: From Poetry to Movement” at 8pm on 4 May in the Headquarters Building of the Orient Foundation, where Artistic Director Cláudia Sampaio and the dancers will share the creation process of transforming poetry into dance. The venues of these two programmes are supported by Sands China Ltd. In addition to the Macau Ticketing Network, a limited number of tickets are on sale through the Cotai Ticketing on www.cotaiticketing.com or ticketing hotlines +853 2882 8818 (Macao), +852 3065 9899 (Hong Kong), and 4008 42 9018 (Mainland China). Registration for the pre-show talk and the talk must be made online through the Activity Application System (activity.mo.gov.mo/activity-h5/activity-list-web) in the Macao One Account. Seats are limited, and successful registrants will be notified by SMS or email.
In addition, the programme “Selected Screenings of International Stage Performances” features exceptional productions by top art troupes from Asia, Europe and the United States, including the documentary PINA by Wim Wenders on 28 April at the Grand Theater, Galaxy Cinemas and Goemon Rock 3: Zipang Punk by Gekidan Shinkansen Theatre on 8 May in Room 2, Cinema Alegria, allowing the audience to enjoy world-class productions through pre-recorded videos. Tickets are available at the price of MOP80, and a 30% discount will be offered on ticket purchases for two different screenings of the “Selected Screenings of International Stage Performances”.
For more information about the programmes, ticket purchase and discounts, please visit the MAF website (www.icm.gov.mo/fam), follow the MAF’s page on Facebook (search for “Macao Arts Festival”), or subscribe to IC’s official WeChat account (IC_Art_Macao). Ticketing hotline: 2855 5555; ticketing website: www.macauticket.com.