The 31st Macao International Music Festival (MIMF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, kicks off with Umberto Giordano’s opera in four acts Andrea Chénier. The opening ceremony will be held on 29 September (Friday), at 7:40pm, at the lobby of the Macao Cultural Centre. Spectators with tickets for the performance are welcome to participate in the opening ceremony.
The Festival opening performance Andrea Chénier is a masterpiece by Italian composer Umberto Giordano, an opera featuring wonderful music, beautiful arias and poetic lyrics, which narrates the reality of different social classes during the period of the French Revolution through a passionate love story between the protagonist Andrea Chénier, and a noblewoman, Maddalena.
In mid-October, the Festival also presents local chamber opera A Fragrant Dream. This opera received high public acclaim when it premiered at the Festival last year, therefore returning to the stage this year. Besides inviting distinguished local playwright Lawrence Lei, composer Liu Chenchen and poet Un Sio San, the Organiser also invited the Macao Orchestra, the Shanghai Opera House Chorus and tenor Han Peng and soprano Xu Lei from the Shanghai Opera House, to participate in this production. Through a more solid cast, a more elaborate script and richer performances, the characters stand out in a more detailed way and express their feelings with more emotion in this renewed production.
In order to allow the public to know more about the opera Andrea Chénier, the organizer hosts a series of outreach activities from 28 September to 1 October. In the talk “Andrea Chénier - Poet Guillotined for Love”, renowned theatre critic Chow Fan Fu will explore the opera’s plot and analyse its characteristics; the “Backstage Tours Giordano’s opera in four acts Andrea Chénier” will allow participants to appreciate closely the production’s sets and wardrobe, hair accessories and other props, inspired by the period of the French Revolution, and enjoy the excellent production work behind the scenes.
Tickets for the 31st MIMF are on sale at the Macau Ticketing Network although only a limited number of tickets is still available for some of the programmes. Ticketing hotline: 2855 5555. Ticketing website: www.macauticket.com. Applications for the 31st MIMF Outreach Programme are still open and registration is available through the webpage www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event. For more information about the 31st MIMF and Outreach Programme, please visit the Festival’s website at www.icm.gov.mo/fimm.