Intl repertoire at Zhuhai Opera House this summer

Zhuhai Opera House on Yeli Island in Wanzaisha, Xiangzhou is holding dramas, choruses, and concerts throughout the year. Upcoming during the next two months are:

The Nutcracker

"Crammed with special effects, the familiar Long Beach Ballet version of The Nutcracker has nearly everything money can buy. Opulent, family-oriented entertainment," commented Lewis Segal, a famous dance critic for the Los Angeles Times in a highly positive review of the classic tale.

The ballet is hailed as a standard Christmas production that many families watch annually. It's a story about a young German girl who dreams of a Nutcracker Prince and a fierce battle against a Mouse King with seven heads. The libretto is adapted from ETA Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" and the score is by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (op. 71).

The Nutcracker Ballet

This production is top tier with a full symphony orchestra, flying sleigh, real live horse, and on-stage pyrotechnics. It features a cast of over 200 from the American Long Beach Ballet troupe.

Performance group: Long Beach Ballet (the US)

Showtime: 8 pm, Thursday, July 26 (90 minutes)

Venue: Opera Hall, Zhuhai Opera House

Ticket Price:

280 yuan ($43.80)/180 yuan ($28.20) for VIP, 100 yuan ($15.60), 80 yuan ($12.50);

Pair of tickets: 480 yuan ($75) (280*2);

Family package: 680 yuan ($106) (280*3)

Kammerorchester Louis Spohr Concert

Founded in 2006, the Louis Spohr Orchestra of Kassel, Hessen, Germany is one of the few German orchestras approved by the government and named after a person. Louis Spohr (1784-1859) was a famous German conductor, composer and violinist. Spohr was the first conductor to use the baton to direct an orchestra and played a pivot role in the Western musical world. 

Kammerorchester Louis Spohr Concert

The highly anticipated concert will also have virtuoso Cui Hongjia as chief conductor and art director. Cui is so far the only Chinese with foreign nationality to hold the post of lifetime bassoon player for a Western national professional orchestra.

Performance group: Kammer Orchester Louis Spohr (Germany)

Showtime: 8 pm, Friday, July 27

Venue: Opera Hall, Zhuhai Opera House

Ticket Price:

380 yuan ($59)/280 yuan ($43.80) for VIP, 180 yuan ($28.20), 100 yuan ($15.60);

Pair of tickets: 650 yuan ($102) (380*2)

Note: Children below 1.1 m (3.6 ft) will not be allowed into the venue.

Vienna's Calling Concert

The Vienna Girls' Choir (German: Wiener Mädchenchor) is composed of those between 11 and 18 years of age. Formed in 2004 in Vienna, Austria, the choir is a part of the Wirth Music Academy.

Their repertoire includes Do Re Me, a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music; Let it go, from Disney's 2013 animated feature film Frozen, and Mozart's Lullaby.      

Vienna Girls' Choir

Performance group: Vienna Girls' Choir (Austria)

Showtime: 8 pm, Saturday, Aug 11

Venue: Music Hall, Zhuhai Opera House

Ticket Price:

380 yuan ($59)/280 yuan ($43.80) for VIP, 180 yuan ($28.20), 80 yuan ($12.50);

Pair of tickets for parent and child: 650 yuan ($102) (380*2)

Family package: 950 yuan ($149) (380*3)

Estonian National Opera Boys' Choir Concert

The world-famous Estonian National Opera Boys' Choir was founded in 1971 as the boys' unit of the State Academic Men's Choir. In 1997 it was renamed the Estonian National Opera.

The choir has been received with acclaim not only in many European countries but also in places further afield like Canada, the USA, Australia, and Japan. The choir has performed with success in such major works as Benjamin Britten's War Requiem and Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

Estonian National Opera Boys' Choir [Photos courtesy WeChat account (ID:zhdjypwgj)]

The concert will feature Georg Friedrich Handel's Hallelujah (from Messiah), Cesar Franck's Panis Angelicus (Soloist Sander Valk.) and Andres Lemba's Up, Up Dear Brothers.

Performance group: Estonian National Opera Boys' Choir (Estonia)

Showtime: 8 pm, Monday, Aug 27 (90 mins)

Venue: Music Hall, Zhuhai Opera House

Ticket Price:

150 yuan ($23.40)/120 yuan ($18.80) for VIP, 80 yuan ($12.50), 50 yuan ($7.80)

Note: Children below 1.1 m (3.6 ft) will not be allowed into the venue.