Hangzhou Grand Theatre

There is a saying in China: In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzhou.. This former capital of China (in the Song Dynasty - 10th to 13th centuries) is today the capital of one of the provinces forming the Golden Coast prosperous, seeped in cultural heritage and home to about 5 million people. The reason for its popularity yearly approx. 20 million Chinese tourists, plus about 250,000 international tourists - is the charming West Lake, with its hand-hewn and sculpted stone walkways along its shores, its willows bending in the breeze, its romantic dragon boats offering tea to the visitor whilst being rowed to the mid-lake pavillion, and the sun setting behind the picture perfect misty hills. Add to that an ever-growing number of excellent restaurants, tea and coffee houses and bustling shopping areas and voilá a perfect holiday destination.

Since late 2004, the city is richer by an additional attraction: the Hangzhou Grand Theatre, designed by Carlos Ott (of Bastille Opera, Paris, fame) and the first building forming part of the new central business district, where a new city hall, new administrative buildings, a new convention center (accommodating 12,000) and adjoining 5-star hotel will be finished within the next five years. The HGT houses 4 performance spaces, including an opera house with 1600 seats and a stage with an 18 meter portal and sound/light/stage machinery equipment enough to make any European or American opera house envious.

So much for the dry facts. In October 2003, negotiations got underway for the first foreign joint-venture in China to operate and program a theatre in this case a German leading team, with the specific task of also training technical theatre personell and hooking-in to the international tours making the rounds of Asia and China in particular. When I was approached and asked to take on the position of General Manager and Artistic Director, I was thrilled at the challenge. Having almost 10 years experience of working in China on various projects (including Turandot in the Forbidden City in 1998 with Zubin Mehta and Zhang Yimou) and loving the dynamic pace of the Chinese Renaissance, I am also aware of the financial and commercial pressures that permeate any business endeavor nowadays, including cultural projects.

And so it was that in September 2004 we started trying to find marketing partners (there are no sponsor-friendly tax laws yet, nor is cultural philantrophy widespread) among the international companies active in Zhejiang province, as well as coming up with ideas such as offering the opera house stage as a place for weddings (big business in China!) or the buildings futuristic architecture for fashion shows, product presentations, etc. At the same time we had to start programming and staffing from scratch, conduct very basic training as there is little awareness of the type of work that goes on behind the scenes in a theatre, work in a still-under-construction-building, and, oh yes, put on some shows.

For our opening performance on January 1, 2005, we put together a unique orchestra made up of leading Chinese musicians now active in famous orchestras around the world: Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Finnish National Opera, etc. The conductor was Hangzhous very own Lan Shui, currently Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Aalborg SO, Denmark, and one of Chinas most promising young conductors. The overwhelming success of the concert made all the bureaucratic hurdles that needed to be overcome worthwhile and will help to smooth the way for the future. One conclusion I can draw in these first three months is best expressed by two proverbs: change is faster than plans and expect the unexpected - every day is full of surprises and there certainly is never a dull moment.

More about the venue: http://www.hangzhougrandtheatre.com

by Zanaida des Aubris, correspondent, Hangzhou/China