Listings

The Golden Horn Crossing the Ocean: The Rodney Marsalis Philadelpha Big Brass

Date: July 23 - 8 pm

Venue: Guangzhou Opera House

Price: 80-480 yuan

The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass is composed of some of America's top brass musicians dedicated to bringing the joyous experience of great music to a wide range of audiences. It is a family owned and operated business that had its beginnings on the streets of New Orleans. On the advice of Ellis Marsalis, the group created a concert format that breaks the usual barriers between genres and strives to create connection between the audience and performers. A group that always reflects the diverse makeup of men and women in the American culture, RMPBB is dedicated to the notion that music is a gift to be enjoyed by everyone. The group is especially dedicated to reaching out to the world's youth and inspiring them to reach for their dreams. A veritable "dream team" of virtuoso brass players, associate artists have appeared on the world's most prominent stages and performed with such groups as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Baltimore Symphony, the S?o Paolo State Symphony Orchestra, the Imani Winds, Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, Dallas Brass, and Boston Brass. The group burst onto the music scene with a debut performance in Philadelphia's Kimmel Center in Verizon Hall, a residency for the Mann Center for the Performing Arts, and a special feature on the National Public Radio show, "All Things Considered." In recent years the group has been invited to perform in major music halls around the world including China's National Center for the Performing Arts, Tangelwood's Seiji Ozawa Hall, and several prominent halls in Brazil and Italy. Contact: 400-610-3721

Music Garden Blame It on The Boogie Wishful Singing Female A Cappella

Date: June 18 - 8 pm

Venue: Beijing Comedy Theater

Price: 180-380 yuan

A female a cappella performance by Wishful Singing is an exuberant journey packed with highlights and surprises. Five classically trained female singers combine their flexible voices and powerful stage presentation in their own unique way. Seemingly effortless and simple, every gesture and every sound used to good effect, adventurous from beginning to end. The singers sang together in the Netherlands Youth Choir. They hit it off so well there that the ambition developed to continue together in female a cappella repertoire; a relatively rare genre very dear to the hearts of all five. The top quality displayed since by Wishful Singing - both aurally and visually - makes the ensemble unique in the world. The repertoire ranges from modest works from the Renaissance and Baroque eras to swinging versions of golden oldies such as Mister Sandman. The ensemble provides a full evening's entertainment that leads the audience from one surprise to the next. The emotions summoned up vary from hushed poignancy to screams of laughter. The individual quality of each singer is shown to full advantage in the group's collective intonation and balance. It is this, in combination with their sense of timing, plus their talent for wry comedy, that makes Wishful Singing so prominent in their field. The ensemble performs regularly in Dutch concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Contact: 010-6655-0000

NCPA Drama Returning Home on a Snowy Night

Date: June 11 - 7 pm

Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts

Price: 180-680 yuan

This drama is named after a line from the poem Staying at a Cottage of Mt. Hibiscus on a Night of Snow of the Tang Dynasty: "When the mountains lurk dim in the pale dark, the cottage of shabby looks stands lone in twilight. By the wattle gate now I hear dogs loudly bark, the master has come home in the snow of night." Wu Zuguang, the playwright, described the joys and sorrows of the famous actor named Wei Liansheng in the historical context where people were swaying in the midst of a raging storm. He has experienced both the prosperity of being popular in early years and hard times of despair. The love story between him and Yuchun, a concubine of the bureaucrat named Su Hongji is just a sad melody that costs their lives.

Contact: 400-610-3721