2019 International Festival of Dance & Music

from Bangkok101 September-October 2019

by Talisman Media

Did you know?

2019 International Festival of Dance & Music

A feast of dazzling old and new music and dance forms

by Lekha Shankar

The 2019 International Festival of Dance and Music boasts an exciting amalgam of old and new art forms— opera, ballet, modern dance and acrobatics.

“We break new grounds every year and always try to ensure that we have something for everyone. There’s a strong mix of classical and contemporary productions lined up this year too,” says the Chairman of the Festival, Mr JS Uberoi.

The biggest name this year is Jose Carreras, the legendary opera singer, known as one of the ‘Three Tenors of the World’ on his farewell tour. This makes his performances even more sought after. Accompanying him will be a world-renowned soprano like Celine Byrne and conductor David Giménez.

Also proudly presenting this year is China’s ‘National Treasure’, the multi-award-winning singer Li Yugang enacting her latest musical drama ‘Lady Zhaojun’ with nearly 70 singers and dancers. This new show is being performed outside Beijing for the first time.

Also performing this year for the first time in Bangkok is the Budapest Symphony Orchestra, ‘Hungary’s most versatile and progressive symphony orchestra’ according to the Festival Chairman.

They have performed in nearly every part of the world and their exciting repertoire will include Tchaikovsky, Liszt and Bela Bartok. They will be led by the world famous Conductor and Artistic Director András Keller.

As usual, there’s a wealth of Russian ballet and opera performances and this year will include two outstanding groups— the Ekaterinburg Opera Theatre and the Kremlin Ballet.

“Both companies are at the forefront of the performing arts scene not only in Russia but Europe,” states Uberoi.

The Ekaterinburg Opera Theatre has won an astounding 15 Golden Mask Awards and will be enacting two striking but totally different love stories—Puccini’s last opera ‘Turandot’ and Dvorak’s most popular opera ‘Rusalko’.

While the Kremlin Ballet, one of the top five ballet companies in Russia, will enact three outstanding ballets—Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame which has been described as an ‘edgeof-the-seat classical ballet thriller’; ‘A Thousand and One Nights’ from the spectacular ‘Arabian Nights’ tale and Tchaikovsky’s ever-popular Swan Lake under the legendary founder-director Andrei Petrov.

Two more ballets at the festival will be performed on ice by the UK’s famed Imperial Ice Stars, the only ice-skating company in the world to have won a theatrical award.

Also, in the lineup this year is the outstanding Swiss Compagnia Finzi Pasca’s show ‘La Verita’. The performance will incorporate a of acrobatics, theatrics, dance and music with multi-talented artists who have performed at over 63 cities in 24 countries.

A must-see performance is by the Introdans modern dance troupe from the Netherlands, returning to the festival for the third time this year. The Dutch Ambassador to Thailand HE Kees Pieter Rade states, “Introdans provides a very modern interpretation of the ballet concept, sometimes challenging gravity, uniting a young and old audience in the public.”

Returning again this year is another globally renowned group, the Les Ballets Trockadero from New York, a pioneering male dancers troupe called the ‘Trocks’ who introduced comedy to classical ballet and have delighted audiences around the world by enacting swans, princesses and sprites with ease.

The 2019 International Festival of Dance & Music has much to offer and plenty of choices for all.

The 20th International Festival of Dance & Music is brought to Bangkok, Thailand by International Cultural Promotions Limited and its patrons and partners. It has become recognised as one of the most outstanding performing arts festivals in Asia with a rather permanent place in Bangkok and Thailand’s annual cultural calendar.