Following a three-year hiatus because of the pandemic, the international arts festival is making its return with a stellar lineup, Zhang Kun reports.

Under the baton of Lahav Shani, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will perform at the closing ceremony of the 22nd China Shanghai International Arts Festival in November. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Organizers of the 22nd China Shanghai International Arts Festival announced last week that renowned performing artists and groups from all over the world, including maestro conductors Christoph Eschenbach and Valery Gergiev, soprano Angela Gheorghiu, tenor Placido Domingo, the Mariinsky Theatre and the American Ballet Theatre, will grace the event this year.

An annual celebration of theater, performing and visual arts, the festival was postponed for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival organizers announced a few weeks ago that the event will make its grand comeback from Oct 15 to Nov 15.

We believe the performance of Gergiev and Mariinsky Theatre’s production of The Ring Cycle will again be phenomenal.

Zhang Songhua, president of the Shanghai Grand Theatre Art Center

More than 400 shows, exhibitions and events — 20 percent more than the previous edition in 2019 — will be held during the festival this year.

According to the organizers, 79 performing arts productions will be presented, 45 of which are by overseas artists and companies.

Many of the domestic productions will also be making their Shanghai or world premieres during the festival.

On Oct 14, the CSIAF Orchestra will put up an outdoor concert in front of the fountain at the Shanghai Exhibition Center under the baton of renowned conductor Eschenbach. Violinist Maxim Vengerov and soprano Gheorghiu will also be featured.

The troupe consists of musicians from the China National Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Shanghai Opera House Symphony.

Eschenbach accepted the festival's invitation to serve as the orchestra's artistic director for three years, during which he will conduct a grand outdoor concert on the eve of the festival every year.

The American Ballet Theatre will perform Giselle during the festival. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, the festival has brought together more than 20 performing arts productions to mark the occasion, says Gao Zheng, secretary-general of the organizing committee for the 22nd China Shanghai International Arts Festival. Gao is also head of the International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The official opening show for the festival on Oct 19 will be a multimedia concert titled Ode to the Silk Road presented by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The troupe has chosen three music pieces about the Silk Road that were created by three Chinese composers from different periods.

The first piece is Duo, a concerto commissioned by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the China Philharmonic Orchestra and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in 2012. Inspired by Datang Xiyu Ji (Records of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty) by Xuan Zang (602-664), a record of a Buddhist monk's pilgrimage from Chang'an (today's Xi'an), Shaanxi province, to India, Zhao Lin created a harmonious dialogue between the cello and sheng, a traditional Chinese wind instrument.

The second piece is Silk Road Reverie, which was created by Zhu Jian'er in 2000 for the Silk Road Ensemble. Zhu had in 2008 adapted the piece for the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and retained the use of the five Chinese folk instruments.

The latest piece for the concert is Ode to the Silk Road by Yu Ji, a young composer and conductor. This piece depicts the communication between different cultures of the countries involved in the BRI.

Peony Pavilion, a Kunqu Opera piece, will be performed at the opening ceremony on Oct 15. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

On Oct 20, representatives from more than 50 performing arts institutions will hold a round table at the Grand Halls by the Huangpu River to explore collaboration and creative ideas under the framework of the BRI.

These representatives plan to sign a new "Shanghai consensus", which aims to foster new dialogues and cooperation between cultures and build a new "Silk Road" for arts and culture, according to Gao.

One of the most anticipated productions of the festival will be Mariinsky Theatre's production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, which comprises four music dramas.

This opera tetralogy will be presented by more than 300 artists of the Mariinsky Theatre and under the baton of maestro conductor Valery Gergiev at the Shanghai Grand Theatre from Oct 16 to 22.

It was said that Wagner spent 26 years creating Der Ring des Nibelungen, eventually completing it in 1874. Now often referred to as The Ring Cycle, it is recognized as one of the most challenging works in the opera scene, as staging four interlinked operas requires a huge commitment both artistically and financially.

In 2010, the Cologne Opera House from Germany brought The Ring Cycle to the Shanghai Grand Theatre and created another milestone in Shanghai's performing arts history, according to Zhang Songhua, president of the Shanghai Grand Theatre Art Center.

"We believe the performance of Gergiev and Mariinsky Theatre's production of The Ring Cycle will again be phenomenal," he says.

The Beijing People's Art Theatre will bring An Old-Fashioned Comedy to stage. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The Mariinsky Theatre opened in 1860 in St. Petersburg, while the orchestra, which was formerly known as the Russian Imperial Opera Orchestra, was founded in 1783. Maestro Gergiev has served as the artistic and general director of the orchestra for more than 30 years, during which the Mariinsky Orchestra has grown into one of the leading symphony orchestras in Russia.

The Shanghai festival's performing arts fair, an integral part of the program, is the largest market for the performing art projects in the Asia-Pacific region.

This year's fair will take place from Oct 19 to 23 at the New Bund 31 Performing Arts Center and more than 1,500 people from about 500 agencies and theater institutions from around the world are expected to take part.

Attendees will include some of the most celebrated theater festivals such as the Avignon Festival in France, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the United Kingdom, and the Sibiu International Theater Festival in Romania.

It had launched its youth incubation project as early as 2012 to support emerging artists and new projects. As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the project, 10 outstanding proposals will be commissioned by its organizers.

Meanwhile, Art Sky, a staple segment of the festival, will consist of about 60 productions presented in open squares, neighborhood communities and other public spaces across Shanghai, allowing the public to enjoy the beauty of art and theater.

This year's edition will have four branch venues in Wuxi, Jiangsu province; Ningbo, Zhejiang province; Hefei, Anhui province; and Weifang, Shandong province.

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn