Here's what you need to know about the 50th Hong Kong Arts Festival next February before the tickets go on sale this December.
The biggest performing arts festival in Hong Kong celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022. Returning in February, the Hong Kong Arts Festival promises more than just a line-up of live and online international and local performances that range from dance productions and drama to opera and concerts. The upcoming festival will also introduce an interactive opera experience using the latest technology and a new purpose-built venue in Central. The festival team has also launched the #MyHKAFStory campaign, through which the public is invited to share memories of the festival from the past half century.
The complete list of programmes and ticketing information will be revealed in mid-December. For now, here’s a sneak peek of six headline shows not to be missed.
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1. Laila
This ambitious production incorporates artificial intelligence, virtual reality, video-projection mapping, 360-degree spatial sound and real-time sensors to create an interactive opera experience in which visitors can change the sound combinations. It was originally created by Finnish arts and technology specialists the Ekho Collective, composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, dramatist Paula Vesala and sound designer Tuomas Norvio for the Finnish National Opera and Ballet.
The company is collaborating with the Hong Kong Arts Festival to bring the production to Hong Kong in its international premiere. The two teams will create a dome-shaped space near the Hong Kong Maritime Museum for this production. The experience will be free but registration is required.
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