In 2017, Hong Kong is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region. To commemorate the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China, the HK Government is pulling

The unprecedented suffering inflicted by the relentless and ruthless personality cult of Chairman Mao Zedong during the Cultural Revolution had a devastating effect on society and on music. Within China’s cultural and intellectual fabric Beethoven had become synonymous with everything

When the Teatro Real reopened on 11 October 1997, it quickly became an internationally acclaimed opera house and an important cultural institution in Spain. A leading venue in the field of music and performing arts, its artistic projects, ranging from

Music was always part of Henri Matisse’s (1869-1954) life. He played the violin on a daily basis, reflecting the rigorous structure and precise technique which corresponded to his artistic methods. It also provided him with an escape and source of

One of the biggest dangers to the wellbeing of operatic theatres throughout history has been fire! As one critic rightly said, “Scenery, stucco, seats and curtains were all highly inflammable. Add to those the wooden structure of the building and

Two of the greatest of Mexico’s artists, composer and pianist Carlos Chávez and painter and muralist Diego Rivera created a ballet on an unlikely subject: Caballos de vapor (Horsepower, or H.P.). The subject however, was close to both artists’ hearts:

The Chinese Buddhist monk Li Shutong—also known by a variety of other names—was a master painter, dramatist, calligrapher, poet, and musician. Born in Tianjin and educated in Shanghai, he went to Japan in 1905 and studied at the Tokyo School

We all remember that horrible night in 1996, when the Venetian opera house “La Fenice” was destroyed and gutted by fire. What at first looked like an innocent accident soon turned out to be a mindless case of arson! Enrico