Listings: Beijing
STAGE
Fairy drama Monkey King's Dream will be shown to mark International Children's Day. The play has been performed more than 100 times in Shanghai. The Monkey King, a familiar character for Chinese children, shuttles between the past and future, telling a story of his magical powers and modern technology.
7:30 pm, today-June 1
The Great Theater of China Nationalities, 49 Fuxingmennei Dajie, Xicheng District
6602-2530
Paolo Nani and Kristjn Ingimarsson from Denmark will stage a "slapstick comedy without words" titled Art of Dying. In 100 minutes of wordless hilarity and tenderness, the piece explores the end we all have to face but want to ignore. They are two clowns, a long-standing double act at the peak of their career. Suddenly, one of them learns he is dying. How does a clown die? Are there any instructions? How does he die politely, without making a mess? And does it really have to be in the middle of a successful tour? With nothing to lose, it is time to enjoy the "now" as never before.
7 pm, June 3, 4
Peking University Concert Hall
6551-6930, 6551-6906
The National Center for the Performing Arts is opening its doors for youngsters to celebrate Children's Day, with the Beijing Children's Arts Theater running its latest production, You Look Like Delicious. Adapted from renowned Japanese illustrator Miyanishi Tatsuya's work, the show tells a story that takes place in the Cretaceous period, where an evil Tyrannosaurus rex longs to be the father of another small dinosaur.
10:30 am, 2:30 pm, 7:30 pm, till Sunday
West of the Tian'anmen Square
6655-0000
To celebrate Children's Day, the St. Petersburg Children Ballet will stage a children's version of Sleeping Beauty in Beijing. With a history of more than 20 years, the ballet troupe performs in the classical Russian ballet style.
7:30 pm, today-June 1
Meilanfang Grand Theater, 32 Ping'anli Xidajie, Xicheng District
5833-1210
The Chinese Acrobatics Group, established in 1950, has toured more than 80 countries, won numerous international awards and has helped foster friendships between China and other nations. Its performance includes traditional acrobatics, a circus show, magic, old Beijing folk plays and more. The show blends music, dance, local opera and martial arts.
7:30 pm, daily
Tiandi Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, 100 m north of Poly Theater, Chaoyang District
6416-9893
CONCERTS
The prestigious Juilliard Orchestra returns to Beijing after 21 years since its debut concert in the capital in 1987. Zhang Xian, associate conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, will lead the 98-member youth orchestra to play works of Leonard Bernstein, Prokofiev, Berlioz, Beethoven, Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Chinese composer Chen Yi.
The concert on Sunday promises to be special, with the Juilliard Orchestra sharing the stage with the Orchestra of the China Central Conservatory of Music. Conductor Yu Feng, who was Zhang's mentor when she was at the Central Conservatory of Music, will conduct the Juilliard Orchestra to play Yellow River Piano Concerto and The Moon Reflected in the Second Spring. Zhang will conduct the Chinese students' Orchestra to play Variations on America by Charles Ives, and George Gershwin's An American in Paris. The combined orchestral forces will then perform a finale, the Farandole from Bizet's L'Arlsienne Suite No 2.
American-Chinese pianist Conrad Tao, 13, and Peng Peng, 15, both students of Juilliard's pre-college division; and baritone Shen Yang, 23, an advanced artist diploma student in the school's Juilliard Opera Center, are the soloists of the tour.
7:30 pm, Sunday
West of Tian'anmen Square
6655-0000
7:15 pm, June 4-5
300 Renmin Avenue, Shanghai Grand Theater
021-6372-8702
An acoustic guitar concert presents performances Huang Jiawei from Taiwan province and Japanese Naoki Jo. Programs include Big Blue Ocean, Our Story, Children Dance, Fantasista and Weather Report.
7 pm, June 1
Peking University Concert Hall, Peking University, Haidian District
6275-2279
The Philadelphia Orchestra launches its China Tour. With conductor Christoph Eschenbach and pianist Lang Lang, the concert will present Beethoven's Egmont Overture Op 84, Grieg's Piano Concerto Op 16 in A Minor and Tchaikovsky's Symphony orchestra No 6 Op 74 in B Minor.
7:30 pm, June 2, at The Great Theater of China Nationalities, 49 Fuxingmennei Dajie, Xicheng District; June 3 at Poly Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang District
6506-5345
8 pm, June 6
Symphony Hall, Xinghai Concert Hall, No 33, Qingbo Road, Ersha Island, Guangzhou
020- 87353869
Exhibitions
The Beijing Scenes series continues with its sixth session entitled New Looks of the Ancient City. Sponsored by the publicity department of the municipal committee, this is an annual show that started in 2003. Eighty-four exhibits on show, including ink works and oil on canvas, display the evolution of city construction over the past decades and the urban life of ordinary people.
9 am-5 pm, till Sunday
National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District
6401-7076
The Central Research Institute of Chinese History boasts staff specializing in culture, history, calligraphy and painting. To usher in the Beijing Olympics, artists in the institute contribute 290 of their recent paintings and calligraphy works, featuring the landmark event and the new look of the country.
9 am-5 pm, till Sunday
National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District
6401-7076
The magnificent mountains and rivers, ancient temples, honest local people and endless grassland - the plateau scenes under the brush of Shang Erli bring the vitality of life and beauty of nature.
10 am-8 pm, till tomorrow
Fafa Gallery, 1 Xiangjiang Beilu, Jingshun Lu, Chaoyang District
8430-2587
On show are some 40 selected works of Spanish artist Frederic Amat, created over the past two decades. Born in Catalonia in Northeast Spain, Amat is known for his range of genres and materials, including graphic works, paintings, installations, videos, and stage designs.
10 am -5 pm, till Sunday
Instituto Cervantes Beijing, A1 Gongti Nanlu, Chaoyang District
5879-9666
Slice is a collaboration between Rania Ho and Weng Wei that seeks to uncover relationships between ephemeral experiences and the concrete materiality of everyday life. Ho's series, Stop-Action, is formed by a reproduction of a ping-pong table, offsetting a hint of movement and the uncertainty of life. Weng's wall painting series, entitled As Prospects Get out of Range, is accompanied by the image of paper-cuts.
10 am-5 pm, till June 3
Arrow Factory, 38 Jianchang Hutong, Dongcheng District
Rao Songqing's landscapes depict the soft gray of the forest around Beijing in winter. For Rao, landscape painting represents philosophical and spiritual concepts relating to the idea of inner experience. Humans, if present, are but an additional element in the composition against boundless space. Using light and sparse colors, he applies layer upon layer of painting, combined with accidental effects to achieve works of strength and subtlety.
10 am-7 pm, till June 4
Yan Club, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
8457-3506
Garden and dream are the themes of Lu Peng's new works this year. In the form of ink paintings, he unveils his imagination with elaborate execution and rich coloring. The overlapping images, normally seen in traditional Peking operas, are presented with classic poses and contrasting color. The background is filled with curtains and auspicious animals.
10 am-5 pm, until June 4
Red Gate Gallery, Dongbianmen Watchtower, Chongwen District
6525-1005
Sculptor Zhan Wang has returned to his hometown in Shandong province several times in recent years, during which he found his ancestor Zhan Jiqin to be the prototype of Liu Xiahui, a popular saint in ancient China. Zhan Wang, the 86th generation of the family, will engage in sculptures of the saint. Eighty-six works will be finished and destroyed in sequence, and one the last one will remain.
11 am-7 pm, till June 4
Long March Cultural Transmission Center, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
6438-7107
The second annual Blank Art Show is now in Beijing.
Calling for environmental protection and eco-friendly lifestyles, 50 young artists from Japan, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and China present a large variety of art works, ranging from photos, videos, installations, paintings, as well as performance art, that interact with viewers.
10 am -6 pm, till June 22
Medium Art Center, 50, Xingshikou Lu, Haidian District
6285-5555
Chen Shibin, the 42-year-old art educator and ink artist, is famous for elegant, forceful calligraphic works and vivid landscape paintings. On display are more than 120 selected ink paintings that mainly depict the natural scenes and local culture of his home province. A portion of the works on show will be auctioned early next month to raise funds for the reconstruction of a primary school in quake-hit Wenchuan county.
10 am - 5pm, till Sunday
Art Museum of China National Academy of Painting, 54 Xisanhuan Beilu, Haidian District
The Moon River Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting the first annual Moon River Sculpture Festival. The event includes an outdoor exhibition of giant sculptures and an indoor show of smaller sculptures and installations.
Works by acclaimed artists such as Wang Guangyi, Yue Mingjun, Xiang Jing and Sui Jianguo will be featured. Creations from more than 100 emerging young artists such as Mu Lei, Yang Na, and Yang Guangnan will also be shown.
10 am -6 pm, till Sep 15
1, Yuelianghe Hebin Lu, Tongzhou District
8952-3733
"Wolong is an amazing and beautiful mountain area that impressed me most I think my time at Wolong with the pandas is the most special experience I have ever had with animals in my 26 years as a professional artist," says Steve Morvell, a highly acclaimed Australian environmental artist. Morvell is displaying his 20 paintings with six pieces related to the giant panda. Morvell is known to spend long hours observing animals in their natural habitat. His artworks capture delightfully intimate encounters with shy and elusive species.
10 am-8 pm, till June 6
Beijing Central Art Gallery, Shop 2 at Kempinski Hotel, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
6465-1396.
(China Daily 05/30/2008 page18)
