Cover The stars came out on March 26 for Big Art Festival (Photo: Zoe Yau/Tatler Hong Kong)
The stars came out on March 26 for Big Art Festival (Photo: Zoe Yau/Tatler Hong Kong)
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Art Week does something to Hong Kong: the city sharpens; the right people materialise; conversations that ordinarily span months happen over a single dinner. And on March 26, against the backdrop of Rosewood Hong Kong, Tatler ensured that the evening was one nobody in that room will forget with Big Art Festival
On March 26, in partnership with Berin Iglesias Art Holding—the international event company behind some of the most culturally significant galas of the past two decades—Tatler brought the Big Art Festival to Hong Kong for the first time. The format was deliberately and unapologetically exclusive: a curated haute gastronomy dinner, followed by live performances of a calibre rarely assembled on the same stage.
Opera legend Plácido Domingo—he of more than 150 operatic roles, 4,000-plus performances, and a voice that has reshaped what opera means to generations—was the first of the evening’s headline performers; over the course of the event, he sang pieces ranging from Puccini to Bernstein.
Francis Cheng, May Lui and Ray Lui (Photo: Zed Leets)
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Also headlining were violinist Julian Rachlin, who performed on the 1704 “ex-Liebig” Stradivarius, and pianist Hélène Mercier-Arnault, Tatler’s March cover star, making her debut performance in the city. The pair duetted on works by the likes of Franck and Saint-Säens. Jazz singer-pianist Eylül Ergül and vocal ensemble The Timeless Tenors completed the evening’s sweep from opera through upbeat melodies that got the crowd on their feet.
Guests had flown in expressly for the occasion from India, mainland China, the UAE, Belarus and France. Among those seated were Pansy Ho, chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings, Caroline Scheufele, president of Chopard, and actors Simon Yam and Ray Lui.
Maxim Berin (Photo: Bill Chan)
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Art Week is when Hong Kong becomes the undisputed centre of the international art world—when collectors, patrons and cultural decision-makers converge. Staging the Big Art Festival inside that window was a deliberate statement. “We believe that luxury, at its highest form, is cultural,” Michel Lamunière, chairman and CEO of Tatler, said. “The most valuable thing you can offer someone is a memory they will carry for the rest of their life.”
The evening reflected Tatler’s broader ambition: to attract the calibre of talent and audience that puts this city on the map. Tatler’s expansion this year into Japan, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America only amplifies that reach. The platform through which Hong Kong’s most extraordinary moments are seen by the world is growing—and Tatler intends to keep filling it with evenings exactly like this one.
As Content Director at Tatler Hong Kong, Tara shapes the brand's editorial vision across social, digital and print, and reports on Asia's most influential figures — from CEOs and leaders across business, style and the arts. In her dual role as Head of VIP, she also drives the planning and execution of Tatler's flagship IPs, curating star-studded events and building the relationships and communities that define the brand. Born and raised in the Middle East, she honed her craft in Dubai, crafting communication strategies for luxury brands across the Gulf. Follow her on Instagram @tarasobti.
