Shanghai Grand Theatre’s yearlong celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death continues with a Bard-centric concert by the hallowed Hallé Orchestra on July 15 (which will come to Beijing's NCPA Theatre on July 17).
“The concert covers four of Shakespeare’s extraordinarily wide-ranging plays,” says musical director Sir Mark Elder. “King Lear is a superbly dramatic overture by Berlioz. Othello is one of Dvořák's triptychs of concert overtures on the theme of ‘Nature, Life and Love.’”
“The Merry Wives of Windsor is a charming overture by the German composer Otto Nicolai, founder of the famous Vienna Philharmonic. And of course, there’s Walton’s brilliant score of Henry V.”
William Walton’s Academy Award-winning score to Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film is a certified classic, with suites from the score frequently performed around the world by orchestras today. Elder notes that the famed actor and director often attributed the film’s success to its score before describing its enduring appeal.
“Its success lies in the way it draws on centuries of English and French music cultures, at the same time providing so much of the dramatic impetus of the story,” he says.
“It is intensely graphic and descriptive – no one can forget the image, or the sound, of the English archers’ arrows fizzing skywards as they sped towards the enemy. Everything is completely relevant to the story; there isn’t a wasted note in it.”
Actors Malcolm Sinclair and Tom McKay will perform as guests at the concert, as part of the Hallé Orchestra’s partnership with the acclaimed Manchester School of Theatre.
Innovative initiatives have been the norm as Elder has steered the Hallé Orchestra from near closure to its return as one of the world’s most celebrated orchestras. In addition to starting their own record label in 2003, which has since won five Gramophone Awards, the Hallé has added a family of youth ensembles “to sow the seeds of musical enthusiasm in the next generation.”
“We try to honor our long legacy by performing at the highest possible standard,” Elder says. “The orchestra plays to around 70,000 children each year with programmes specially devised to engage young minds new to classical music, some of whom play along with the orchestra.”
“Many of our players are involved in work outside the concert hall: with young people, in homes for the elderly, in prisons. Manchester is fortunate in having a conservatoire of worldwide reputation, the Royal Northern College of Music, and we work closely with them. Their leading students often play with, and even conduct the Orchestra.”
Excited to return to China for the fifth time, Elder makes sure to praise past collaborator Hong Xu as “a wonderful pianist who has been making a worldwide career whilst based in Wuhan.”
In addition to their Shakespeare concert, the Hallé Orchestra will play with Xi’an-born, London-based cellist Wang Jian on July 14 for the first time at Shanghai Grand Theatre and on July 16 in Beijing. “My colleagues at the Hallé have been very excited about Jian’s artistry since he first appeared with the orchestra,” Elder says.
“Elgar’s Cello Concerto is not only one of the greatest concertos for this eloquent instrument, but it captures the essence of a certain typically English character. Wistfulness, regret, longing and determination in the face of extreme sadness.”
Shanghai: July 14-15, 7.30pm, RMB180-1,080, Shanghai Grand Theatre, see event listing.
Beijing: July 16-17, 7.30pm, RMB180-880. NCPA Theatre.
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