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National Grand Theater opens on Dec 22
Beijing—Beijing’s newly
completed futuristic National Center for the Performing Arts, formerly
known as the National Grand Theater, will begin its formal performance
season on December 22.
Tickets for all shows are available via the center’s website,
www.chncpa.org, which was launched on Tuesday, or from the center’s box
office and regular ticketing agents. The English version of the website
is not yet completed.
All the center’s phone receptionists would be able to handle requests in
basic English. An inaugural concert will be given by the China National
Symphony Orchestra (CNSO) and the Beijing Symphony Orchestra. Soloist Li
Yundi, a young Chinese pianist, will play a piece by Maurice Ravel, said
Deng Yijiang, deputy president of the National Center for the Performing
Arts, during a news briefing.
The Mariinsky Theater Opera Company (known until 1991 as the Kirov),
from St Petersburg, Russia, will perform Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor
on December 25. It will be the first foreign art troupe to give a
performance in the building. According to Deng, between December 22 and
April 6, about 6,000 Chinese and overseas artists will give 180
performances, including operas such as Othello and ballets including
Swan Lake, Jewels and Le Corsaire.
Among international performers who will be appearing will be conductors
Valery Gergiev and Seiji Ozawa, and sopranos Kathleen Battle and Kiri Te
Kanawa. Apart from the Mariinsky Theater of Russia, other famous foreign
art troupes such as the New York Philharmonic will also perform.
According to Deng, these shows are expected to attract an audience
totaling 300,000 and more than 20,000 tickets have already been sold for
the opening season.
Despite its huge development costs and high profile, the National Center
for the Performing Arts is not just for the wealthy, he said.
The center will sell tickets for as little as 30 yuan ($4) and the
average ticket price will be lower than that for a regular show in
Beijing, he said.
“Our purpose is not just to make money, but rather to attract a much
wider audience to the National Center of the Performing Arts,” he said.
However, the cost of tickets for the inaugural show is far higher,
ranging from 180 yuan to 1,080 yuan ($24-$144).—Xinhua |
