The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra kicks off its 2020/21 season with a continuation of Beethoven’s 250th birthday celebrations on October 9 and 10

October 30 will see the debut of the Hong Kong Ballet’s new season and a staging of Don Quixote

Finally, there’s relief for performance-starved Hongkongers – next week, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra kicks off its 2020/21 season with a continuation of Beethoven’s 250th birthday celebrations. Other performing arts groups are also returning to the stage as the city’s third wave of Covid-19 gradually wanes.

The resumption of live performances means that this year’s season openings are more or less on track. Given the continuing international travel restrictions, though, local performers will be given the chance to shine on their own.HK Phil fans may be disappointed to learn that music director Jaap van Zweden is not going to be on stage for its October 9-10 concerts at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre – although we hear that he is making his way back soon from the Netherlands.Lio Kuok-man will instead take up the baton and play the piano in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, a savvy choice that thrusts three local soloists into the limelight. Concertmaster Jing Wang, on the violin, and principal cello Richard Bamping are the other two stars in the performance of this uplifting piece.

Known as the “father of Hong Kong modern music”, Lam was born in Macau (as was Lio) but has spent most of his career in Hong Kong. His rarely performed Thanksgiving to Joe-Kwan, the Kitchen God rounds out the concert together with Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man and Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Suite.

Lam will also feature in the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra’s (HKCO) season opener on October 30. In 1979, the HKCO commissioned his delightful Insect World, one of the Western-music-trained composer’s first forays into writing for traditional Chinese instruments. For the latest performance, three of the composer’s young grandchildren will be in charge of the recitations.

Another highlight of the evening will be Wong Sum-ho – a new graduate from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts – on the gaohu (a Chinese bowed string instrument) for The Butterfly Lovers. October 30 will also see the debut of the Hong Kong Ballet’s new season, with dancers Li Jiabo and Ye Feifei taking on the challenging lead roles in a reprisal of Nina Ananiashvili’s 2014 staging of Don Quixote.

The exuberant interpretation of Miguel de Cervantes’ classic novel is known for being technically demanding, so the cast will have plenty of opportunities to dazzle with their jumps and lifts. The performers will not have to dance with their masks on, but the audience will have wear theirs for the duration of all indoor performances – and only half of the seats can be occupied to maintain safe distancing.

Hong Kong Ballet dancers Li Jiabo (left) and Ye Feifei take on the lead roles in Don Quixote. Photo: Conrad Dy-Liacco and Hong Kong BalletGiven the small number of tickets available this season, some performances in smaller venues – especially those with subject matter that resonates with the public after a traumatic year of political unrest and social divisions in Hong Kong – have already sold out and new shows have been added.

For example, the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre’s Principle, a Cantonese play about intergenerational conflict, is going to be on an eight-day full-house run from October 2-11.All three performances of Hong Kong Sinfonietta’s The Originals – a programme based on original Hong Kong musicals – are also sold out. Part of the allure must be that Yip Wing-sie, who is set to retire as music director this year, will be conducting the crowd-pleasing selection.

Other shows coming up include Pants Theatre Production’s Sweet Mandarin. The play, in Cantonese and English (with subtitles), is based on Helen Tse’s autobiography of the same name.

The British born Chinese lawyer-turned-restaurateur’s book about her successful career change and her family’s journey from China to Hong Kong and Manchester became a global bestseller when it was published in 2006, and it was adapted for the stage in 2015.

This production, which will run from October 9-11 at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre, will feature a new cast, with Law Ching-sum, Wong Hiu-yee and Ko Siu-man playing the three generations of women in the family.

The pandemic has wrecked havoc on cultural activities in Hong Kong since the start of the year. A reopening of venues in June lasted only a few weeks before the city’s third wave of new infections made social distancing mandatory again.

While local troupes are hoping that the rest of the season will go more smoothly, many groups are continuing to experiment with a hybrid offline-online performance model.

City Contemporary Dance Company, for example, has an online collaboration with heritage-arts compound Tai Kwun that features a series of dance pieces performed by real-life couples called A Lover’s Concerto. A new “episode” will be available from October 18-20 on the Tai Kwun website.

It’s not just been our learning, working, socialising and living habits that have changed – our viewing habits have been affected too.

As long as the lingering effects of Covid-19 remain, performing arts groups and venue managers are going to have to adapt to a “new normal” – a world in which venues can be closed at short notice, more options are given for how the audience experiences a show and where there are less opportunities to take shows on tours. Digital means of performing will only become more important as time goes on.

Still, no amount of screen time can replace the experience of actually being part of a theatre audience. So, now that we can, go out and enjoy the thrill of live concerts, dance and theatre. You never know when that next wave of Covid-19 is going to hit us.

Source south china morning post