Stage Door News
Stage Door News
TORONTO (April 16, 2013) – Luminato Festival will host the Canadian premiere of the classic Chinese tale, FENG YI TING, an opera directed by Atom Egoyan, June 20-22 at the MacMillan Theatre, as part of the 7th Annual Luminato Festival.
As interpreted by Guo Wenjing, one of China’s most respected contemporary composers who fuses Chinese and Western classical styles, and directed by celebrated film and theatre director Atom Egoyan, FENG YI TING explores the epic tale of Diao Chan (Shen Tiemei), one of the fabled Four Beauties of ancient China, whose seductive charms ignite an empire-threatening rivalry between a ruthless warlord and the brave general Lu Bu (countertenor Jiang Qihu).
Luminato Festival’s Artistic Director, Jorn Weisbrodt, is excited to have the world-class opera lighting up Toronto’s MacMillan Theatre. “After last year’s Einstein on the Beach with its epic four and a half hour length, Feng Yi Ting is an antidote, but nonetheless as intoxicating in its fleeting 55 minutes. A perfect blend of traditional Chinese opera with contemporary music, one of the greatest film makers in the world, Atom Egoyan, tells the story of a woman who is made into a femme fatale by her father to ruin the lives of two competitors.”
This gem-like opera focuses on the pivotal moment when Diao and her lover meet in the Feng Yi Ting, or "Phoenix Pavilion," where she urges him to eliminate his nemesis. Guo's magical score blends Chinese and Western traditions, at once arrestingly modern and majestically ancient.
“Sung in Mandarin, in the traditional Chinese opera style, the cast is the best that you can currently experience in this genre,” said Weisbrodt. “Egoyan manages to keep the legend and exoticism intact, while at the same time making it completely compelling and current. It is one of the best examples of contemporary opera that I have seen in a long time.”
With set designs by Tony-winning Derek Mclane, lighting by Matt Frey, costumes by Han Feng, projections by Cameron Davis and video by Hong Kong-based visual artist Tsang Kin-Wah, FENG YI TING premiered at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina and played New York’s Lincoln Center Festival to rave reviews this past summer.
“A brilliant morsel of theatrical art, flamboyantly conceived and compellingly staged.” – The New York Times
FENG YI TING
Directed by ATOM EGOYAN
Starring opera stars SHEN TIEMEI and JIANG QIHU
Sung in Mandarin Chinese with English and Mandarin surtitles
June 20 - June 22, 2013 – Three Performances Only!
Thursday – Saturday @ 8:00 PM
MacMillan Theatre, 80 Queens Park
Ticket prices range from $25 to $65 (inclusive of HST and facility fee; plus applicable service charges) Purchase online at luminatofestival.com or by phone at 416-368-4TIX (4849)
Ticket holders are invited to join director Atom Egoyan for a pre-performance talk about the creation of FENG YI TING, each evening at 7:10PM upstairs at the MacMillan Theatre.
FENG YI TING is co-produced by Lincoln Center Festival, Spoleto Festival USA and Currents – Art & Music Atom Egoyan Interviewed by Daniel Wakin will take place on Sunday, June 16 at the Isabel Bader Theatre as part of TimesTalks Luminato.
The seventh annual Luminato Festival takes place from June 14–23, 2013. Tickets for all Luminato Festival 2013 programs will be available for sale beginning Saturday, April 20. For details, visit luminatofestival.com.
Twitter: @Luminato
Hashtags: #Luminato #LuminatoMoment
Facebook: Luminato Festival
Instagram: @LuminatoFestival
Photo: Shen Tiemei and Jiang Qihu. ©2012 Stephanie Berger.
2013-04-16
Toronto: Luminato will present the opera “Feng Yi Ting” directed by Atom Egoyan June 20-22