Success without financial support
(ZHANG QIAN)
07/13/2001
The general manager of Shanghai Grand Theatre, Le Shengli (his name means "happy about victory") has been very happy indeed about the box office. This August will mark the third anniversary of the opening of Shanghai Grand Theatre, which has taken in about 60 million yuan (US$7.2 million) since it opened. "It's not an easy job because the theatre is not subsidized by the government, like many in Western countries," Le said. But anyone who has spent any time at all with Le will not find it surprising that the theatre is raking in the yuan. Original, humorous and enterprising, Le is, in all respects, a good manager and a capable leader. Born into a family of cartoonists in 1945, Le Shengli received a good education. With both artistic and financial talent, he was admitted to Shanghai University of Finance & Economics in the 1960s. Because of his wide social connections and economics background, he worked for Xinmin Evening News for more than 10 years. "But I was dreaming of a grand theatre where world-famous orchestras and troupes could perform, because Shanghai then had the best audience without the best theatre," he said. His dream was not realized until 1994 when he was given responsibility for building the Shanghai Grand Theatre. In that year he visited many of the world's most famous theatres and opera houses, including Milan's La Scala and the Metropolitan in New York. His workload got heavier with the start of construction of the theatre. As supervisor, he put in 15-hour days seven days a week. "The whole construction group was actually made up of engineers from six countries," Le said. "So I had to be an organizer and co-ordinator." Le recalled that the 10 German experts were only willing to work eight hours a day. "This slowed the whole project because the project was processing on assembly line," Le said. So he bought the German experts Tsingtao beer and dinner every day. The Germans were greatly moved by Le's hospitality and worked late into the night. For four years, Le laboured with construction workers day and night until the building was completed in 1998. "As a whole, I am satisfied with the theatre," Le said. "Except for two regrets: there is not enough space between the seats; and there are not enough toilets." The Shanghai Grand Theatre has become a place where Shanghainese can enjoy ballet, opera and orchestral concerts. Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo have given concerts at the theatre, and Le is now in contact with Luciano Pavarotti for a possible performance at the end of this year. "The highest price for Pavarotti's concert might be 5,000 yuan (US$603)," he said. As to the high prices of tickets at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, Le said they were determined by the cost of running the theatre. "The cost of utilities per day totals 30,000 yuan (US$3,600), 20,000 (US$2,400) of it for electricity," Le said. Le said the most profitable performances managed by the Shanghai Grand Theatre to date have been the Placido Domingo concert, Britain's Royal Ballet and the Marinsky Theatre of St.Petersburg. The Domingo event alone earned over one million yuan (US$120,000). He said the theatre was careful to keep costs down, and for big projects formed two groups, one to engage in planning, the other in promotion. In addition to the Pavarotti concert, a major event this year will be "Swan Lake" in August. Le said the Shanghai Ballet Company will stage the Royal Ballet version, and he expects this to attract a large audience.
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