Shanghai fest blooms with global arts

Shanghai Grand Theatre will reopen during the festival after a large refurbishment project that went on for nine months.

The theater will present its premiere of the opera Attila by Giuseppe Verdi, jointly produced with Palace of Arts Budapest.

Attila ruled the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century and the opera tells the story of Attila's invasion of Italy and his last days there, till a woman named Odabella assassinated him in revenge for the murder of her father and aggression against her home country.

"The play has the elegance, beauty and grandeur, all typical of Verdi, yet it has not been staged as often as many other Verdi works," says Zhang Zhe, director of Shanghai Grand Theatre.

Attila will be directed by the general manager of Palace of Art Budapest, Csaba Kael, and star bass Giacomo Prestia from Italy, as Attila, and soprano Csilla Boross from Hungary as Odabella, the heroine.

A series of commissioned projects by the festival will also be highlights, such as a new symphonic poem composition by Tan Dun, the play Green Snake from the National Theater of China, and an original musical North of the Suzhou Creek, about the life of Jewish refugees in Shanghai during World War II.

A "week of Argentina" will take place during the festival featuring tango dance and music shows, a black-light puppet performance and a concert by pianist Nelson Goerner.

The festival has been dedicated to the introduction of performing arts from other countries with a high artistic level and innovative ideas, says Teng, the artistic director.

"We are making more efforts to take China's high-quality shows to the foreign market, too."