Hong Kong Arts Festival Celebrates its 50th Anniversary With a Global Audience

The year 2022 marks the 50th edition of the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF), one of Asia's premiere international cultural festivals. To celebrate this important milestone, the HKAF is presenting an array of online performances covering music, dance, theatre and more from late February through March for the enjoyment of a global audience.

Underpinning the significance of staying in touch with the world in the Covid era, this year's HKAF uses "connections" and "arts and technology" as key themes. It continues to pivot to more online offerings, like last year, which should come as music to the ears of a global audience, as they can enjoy the specially curated performances regardless of geographical boundaries.

Highlights of the online performances include:

OPERA

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series
Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera) (Germany)
Korngold's Die tote Stadt (The Dead City)

An epic psychological drama of love and obsession, composed by one of music's greatest prodigies, now retold with superlative conducting by Kirill Petrenko and starring tenor Jonas Kaufmann and soprano Marlis Petersen. Feb 24 - Mar 3, 2022 (HK Time)
Free registration: https://go.hkaf.org/dietotestadt-en

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series
Bayerische Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera) (Germany)
Shostakovich's The Nose

Acclaimed Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov's brand-new interpretation of a classic comedic opera, exploding with surreal imagery and human absurdity. Mar 10 - 17, 2022 (HK Time)
Free registration: https://go.hkaf.org/thenose-en (N/A in Russia)

MUSIC

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (Germany)
Three live-streamed concerts

Under the baton of Czech chief Jakub Hrůša, the concerts celebrate life, death and tradition with Smetana's stirring Má Vlast and Bruckner's and Mahler's epic Ninth Symphonies. Mar 4, 9 & 12, 2022 (HK Time)
Free registration: https://go.hkaf.org/bamberg-en

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (Germany)
Family Concert

The perfect pastime for children (and the young at heart), featuring Saint-Saëns's delightful The Carnival of the Animals and Haas's Little I-Am-Me. Apr 11 - 25, 2022 (HK Time)
Free registration: https://go.hkaf.org/bamberg-family-concert-en

THEATRE

Ontroerend Goed (Belgium)
TM

A live interactive one-on-one experience exploring media manipulation, populist ideology and conspiracy theories. Performed in English. Feb 26 - Mar 27, 2022 (Every Sat and Sun, HK Time)
Tickets: https://go.hkaf.org/ontroerend-goed-tm-en

Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe (France)
Molière: Tartuffe and The School for Wives

Radical interpretations of two of the great French playwright's major works in celebration of the 400th anniversary of his birth. Directed by Stéphane Braunschweig - renowned Molière specialist and Artistic Director of the Odéon-Théâtre de l'Europe, these landmark productions explore the depths of timeless human frailty and foolishness. Mar 18 - 25 (HK Time)
Free registration: https://go.hkaf.org/moliere-en

Dead Centre (Ireland)
To Be A Machine (Version 1.0)

A theatrical adaptation of a prize-winning non-fiction book of the same title to be live-streamed by Game of Thrones star Jack Gleeson from a stage in Dublin. Mar 23 - 26, 2022 (HK Time)
Tickets: https://go.hkaf.org/to-be-a-machine-en

For details of the 50th Hong Kong Arts Festival, please visit https://go.hkaf.org/online-en.

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