Bard East/West Ensemble Chamber Opera and Dance Concert at Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center

The eighth annual China Now Music Festival, Music in Motion, concludes with a dynamic performance from the Bard East/West Ensemble (BEWE), comprising of a Western string quintet, seven Chinese instruments, and two percussionists, in a 3-part program of contemporary music from China. Propulsive Chinese percussion opens the concert, followed by a new telling in chamber opera form of David Henry Huang’s poignant play M. Butterfly. The final piece, Four Seasons in Lingering Garden, receives a choreographic treatment to engage two dancers and the entire ensemble in a dramatic representation of the changing landscape in a traditional Chinese garden.

Program:

Nai-Chung Kuan From The Age of the Dragon double percussion concerto 1. The Sun 4. The Earth Arr. Shutong Li Shiqi Zhong, Chinese percussion

Intermission

Ma Hanrui M. Butterfly, a chamber opera Pan Geng, libretto Gallimard (the diplomat): Eric Carey, tenor Feng (Peking opera nandan): Yu Xiangwei, Peking Opera performer Judge: Nathaniel Sullivan, baritone

Intermission

Wang Danhong Four Seasons in Lingering Garden symphonic poem 1. Spring Breeze Awakens the Garden 2. Dappled Green in Summer Shade 3. Fragrance of Osmanthus on the Wind 4. Watching the Snow from the Pavilion Arr. Shutong Li Dai Jian, choreographer Wang Kan, female dancer Peng Mi, male dancer

Performers: Bard East/West Ensemble Jindong Cai, conductor Shiqi Zhong, Chinese percussion Yu Xiangwei, Peking opera performer Eric Carey, tenor Nathaniel Sullivan, baritone Wang Kan, dancer Peng Mi, dancer