What's on

Shanghai Grand Theater New Year's Concert 2020

When: Dec 30 and 31, 7:30 pm

Where: Shanghai Grand Theater

After five years of cooperations, the Shanghai Grand Theater and the Shanghai Opera House will again join hands for their sixth New Year's Concert, which is also the opening performance for the Shanghai Opera House's 2020 season.

Italian conductor Fabio Luisi, together with the symphony orchestra and chorus from the house, will delight audiences.

Pieces from Rossini, Mozart, and Symphony No 2 in D major by Brahms will be performed on Dec 30.

The second concert, on Dec 31, will include vocals from several leading soloists, and the traditional annual performance of Beethoven's Symphony No 9 in D minor.

My Bucket List

When: Dec 31 to Jan 4, 7:30 pm; Jan 1 and 4, 2 pm

Where: Shanghai Culture Square

The Chinese version of the musical My Bucket List tells the story of two young men during their last few days of life.

Rather than receiving treatment, 19-year-old Liu Bao chooses to complete his bucket list by doing things like giving a concert, marrying his idol and designing his own funeral.

He hires a rebellious teenager, Yang Xiaoyu, who has previously attempted suicide, to help him. While keeping the general structure of the original South Korean version, many Chinese jokes are carefully mixed into this version.

It's a story of laughter instead of tears.

Napoleon, the Man Who Never Sleeps

When: Dec 31 to Jan 2, 7:30 pm

Where: Guangzhou Opera House

Takarazuka Revue is an all-female theater company founded in Takarazuka, Japan, in 1914. Women play both the male and female roles in lavish Broadway-style productions.

Former members of the company will bring Napoleon, the Man Who Never Sleeps to audiences in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

The play focuses on a love affair involving Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), the French military leader and emperor who conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century.

Vienna Royal Orchestra New Year Concert

When: Jan 2, 7:15 pm

Where: Shanghai Grand Theater

The Vienna Royal Orchestra Austria is composed of musicians from the leading Viennese orchestras, including the philharmonic, symphony and radio symphony orchestras.

The concert presents a unique selection of Viennese music with pieces from Mozart, Strauss, Lanner, Lehar, Schrammel and Haydn.

Faust

When: Jan 9-12, 7:30 pm

Where: Beijing Poly Theater

Lithuanian director Rimas Tuminas will bring his latest work, Faust, an adaptation of Goethe's dramatic play, to Beijing audiences.

The tragic play stars Liao Fan as Mephistopheles, the devil, and Yin Zhusheng as Faust.

One of the most famous plays in German literature, the play is based on a classic German legend, in which Faust, a discontented scholar, makes a deal with the devil to attain worldly knowledge, pleasure and power at the expense of his soul.

Crested Ibises

When: Jan 8, 7:15 pm

Where: Shanghai Grand Theater

Also known as the bird of good fortune, the crested ibis is a symbol of happiness and luck in China.

This dance drama by the Shanghai Dance Theater is a tribute to the bird, which was near extinction until scientists found a number of them thriving in Shaanxi province in 1981.

The drama was inspired by the true story of efforts by Japan and China to preserve the endangered species.

Thanks to those efforts, more than 1,800 crested ibises have been confirmed in the wild in the two countries.

The Chinese New Year

When: Jan 17-19, 7:30 pm

Where: National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing

With its dazzling hybrid of Western ballet and Chinese culture, the National Ballet of China has won a distinguished reputation for performing cherished works and original creations.

It will delight audiences with The Chinese New Year, the localized version of The Nutcracker, before Spring Festival, which falls on Jan 25.

Premiering in 2001 and revised in 2010, the ballet presents a long scroll of Chinese festival customs.

In the ballet, Yuanyuan is a girl living in a hutong (alley) in Beijing.

In her dream on New Year's Eve, she meets with the legendary monster Nian and embarks on a mystical journey in a world of Chinese folklore.

An Accident of Love

When: March 6 and 7, 7:30 pm

Where: Shanghai Culture Square

Adapted from 1983 film Papa, Can You Hear Me Sing?, musical An Accident of Love is a moving tale of kinship, love and chasing dreams. The strong cast features singer Ding Dang.

The three-hour theatrical adaptation has toured the world.

Besides renditions of popular classic songs from the original film, one can also expect well-known titles from Ding Dang's albums like I Love Him, giving the musical a delicate touch of novelty.

Duan Jin

When: March 11-15, 7:30 pm

Where: Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center

Duan Jin tells the story of how three brothers with different personalities run a business together on Wangfujing Street in Beijing with a mixture of love and hate, amid success and failure during the early period of the last century.

Screenwriter Zou Jingzhi brings the typical old Beijing story to life in a realistic manner.

Three well-known actors－Zhang Guoli, Wang Gang and Zhang Tielin－play the lead roles in this play.