Art beat (March 15-30)

Guangzhou:

Second chance at a dream

[Photo/China Daily]

Will Jia Baoyu, the hero in A Dream of Red Mansions, change the tragic fate of his love with Lin Daiyu if he has a second chance to live his life again? You can find the answer in Jia Baoyu, Hong Kong theatrical director Edward Lam's modern adaptation of one of China's great classics.

The drama starts with the novel's ending: Jia is in heaven and has to go backwards to relive the joys and sorrows again if he wants to stay with Lin in heaven. The plot may be familiar but the emotions intensify when the audience sees Jia torn between changing the foregone fate or not.

All the main characters are played by women dressed in modern outfits. Lam says it's natural to have females play characters who probe issues about women, love and freedom.

7:30 pm, March 29-30. Opera Hall of Guangzhou Opera House, Exit B1 of Zhujiang New Town subway station, the interchange of Line 3 and 5, Guangzhou. 020-3839-2888.

Modern theater guru

[Photo/China Daily]

It is lucky to love what you do. Jin Shi-jye (pictured), a pioneer of modern theaters in Taiwan, will share with his fans the joy of being the lucky man at his public lecture in Guangzhou on Sunday.

The 62-year-old has been a playwright and theater performer for 35 years, carving classic characters in the audience's minds such as the lovesick Jiang Binliu in The Peach Blossom Land. He was regarded as the best person for that character in stage performances and film adaptations in Taiwan from the play's debut in 1986 until 2006.

10 am-12 am, March 17. Lecture Hall No 1, Sun Yat-sen Library of Guangdong Province, 213 Wenming Road, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou. 020-8383-0676.

Wagner and Verdi

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the births of two opera giants, Wagner from Germany and Verdi from Italy, Xinghai Concert Hall in Guangzhou will kick off a series of concerts with their selected works. Joining the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra for the first concert are Italian opera conductor Massimo Zanetti and Hungarian mezzo-soprano Ildiko Komlosi. The audience will also get to appreciate clips from both Wagner's and Verdi's music.

8 pm, March 28. Symphony Hall, Xinghai Concert Hall, 33 Qingbo Road, Ersha Island, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou.

020-8735-2222.

Dance rituals

[Photo/China Daily]

Taiwan choreographer Lin Hwai-min will present Nine Songs (pictured), a recreation of the cycle of poems written by Qu Yuan some 2,300 years ago.

Having received great acclaim at the Vienna International Dance Festival, the Next Wave Festival in New York and the Sydney 2000 Olympic Arts Festival, Nine Songs celebrates life, nature and honorable death by presenting rituals in reverence of gods with modern dance.

8 pm, March 22-23. Opera Hall of Guangzhou Opera House, Exit B1 of Zhujiang New Town subway station, the interchange of Line 3 and 5, Guangzhou. 020-3839-2888.