Arts festivals offer treats next year

Auckland, Wellington, Hong Kong festivals

With forthcoming festivals in Wellington, Auckland and Hong Kong, festivalgoers are in for a few treats. The big problem is that the three festivals are on at the same time so that you will not be able to get to all the great events on offer, particularly with the Auckland and Wellington festivals going head to head in a competition to attract audiences.

The Auckland Arts Festival is on March 2 to 20 and Wellington’s New Zealand  Festival is on Feb 26 – March 20. If you want to travel, the Hong Kong Arts Festival is on February 19 to March 20.

The various festivals have only released a few of their productions so far but one of the most important works to premiere in Auckland will be John Adams’ opera, Nixon in China, which is one of the most important operas of the past 40 years. It is an ambitious work on a grand scale, an iconic piece of operatic writing. Combining pulsating energy and soaring lyricism, with influences from big band to Wagner, it relates the story of the historic meeting of two of the 20th century’s most influential and controversial figures – Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong. Set in February 1972, Nixon in China opens on the runway of a Beijing airfield and the arrival of President and Mrs Nixon in Air Force One. It was the first time a U. president had visited the People’s Republic of China, and by visit’s end decades of enmity between the two countries had been shelved and the world was realigned in the process.

In reviewing a London production of the opera (NBR July 7, 2000) I noted “John Adams is one of the most successful minimalist composers of the past few decades”

“In taking contemporary figures and isolating them in a series of events he has created an operas with all the power of a myth. These people have the lives and fates of the world in their hands as they chat about trivialities.”

“As well as encountering the participants as historical figures we are also shown them as individuals with fears and concerns. It is an heroic opera tinged with irony, a political opera with a trace of satire.”

Auckland Arts Festival 2016’s Nixon in China season brings together a stunning cast and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra under the baton of conductor Joseph Mechavich (USA as well as an all-star creative team led by Sara Brodie (Don Giovanni). Tenor Simon O’Neill plays Mao Zedong, baritone Barry Ryan is Nixon, baritone Chen Ye Yuan is Zhou En Lai, soprano Madeleine Pierard is Patricia Nixon, and soprano Hye Jung Lee is Madame Mao.

With a set designed by John Verryt, and video created by the Louise Potiki-Bryant, this semi-staged production will mean that the opening scene will not see the full size nose of a Boeing 727 trundle onto the stage as is the case in most fully staged productions.

Also premiering at the Auckland festival will be Iceland-based American John Grant and his band with their brand of new wave, electronica, industrial rock and pastoral chamber-pop.

The James Plays will premiere as well. These are a series of high-stakes medieval political thrillers bringing to life three generations of Stewart kings – James I, James II and James III who ruled Scotland in the tumultuous 15th century. They’re historical drama for a contemporary audience and as engaging as Game of Thrones.

In the run-up to the festival proper the New Zealand Festival will be staging Scotland’s famous Royal Military Edinburgh Tattoo – known as the "greatest show on earth". Set against the stunning backdrop of Edinburgh Castle, the tattoo is always a sell-out and has been watched by millions over its 65-year history. Featuring more than 1000 incredible performers, witness this magnificent spectacle of music, dance and precision display. The traditional Celtic Massed Pipes and Drums, Military Bands and Highland Dancers are joined by a selection of the best cultural and military performers from around the world.

The Hong Kong Arts Festival has an impressive line-up so far. There is a production of Simon Boccanegra by the Teatro Regio of Turin who are also providing major concerts featuring Verdi’s Requiem, Shostakovich’s Ninth symphony and Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky cantata.

Two German choirs will perform The St Mathews Passion.

The Berlin State Ballet will be performing Sleeping Beauty and the human earthquake of theatre Peter Brook will be presenting his new play Battlefield, based on The Mahabharata, one of the world’s longest poems.

The great soprano Anna Netrebko will be making her debut this side of the world and the Buena Vista Social Club will be on its final tour.

The festival also includes major Asian performances including a new version of Macbeth, The National Theatre of Korea’s Scent of Ink which has a subtle blend of Asian and Western music and a Beijing Opera production of The Artistry of Zhang Junqiu.