The 35th Macao International Music Festival (MIMF) is set to return after a three-year, pandemic-induced hiatus, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has confirmed.
The 16-programme festival will open with the Barber of Seville, the famous comic opera by Gioachino Rossini, on 30 September. MIMF’s director Lio Kuokman – music director and principal conductor of the restructured Macao Orchestra – will conduct.
An eclectic line-up of performers for this year’s festival has been brought together under the theme of “melodic reconnections,” while venues such as the Mandarin House and the Taipa Houses will give some of the performances a distinctive Macao setting.
A highlight will be Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi’s “360” series, in collaboration with the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra and the Macao Orchestra. Hisaishi is known for creating the scores for many of Studio Ghibli’s celebrated anime films (including Spirited Away and Princess Monokeke).
[See more: The essential guide to Macao’s galleries and public art]
Other featured artists include the a cappella band Naturally 7, Portuguese fado singer Gisela João, and Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis (along with his ensemble, musicAeterna). Local performers including the young pianist Monic Chen and venues such as the Mandarin House will give the international festival a distinct Macao flavour.
The 35th Macao International Music Festival will wind up on 30 October with Echoes Of Life, a cross-disciplinary performance created by German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott and the Turkish architect Hakan Demirel.
IC’s director Leong Wai Man told local media that she hoped the event would attract “many visitors from neighbouring regions.”
“This is the first time we can invite musicians and groups from abroad [since the beginning of the pandemic].”
Tickets go on sale on 3 September, and will initially be limited to 10 per person, per performance. More details here.
