NO special theme this year, unless you count the element of fantasy in several programmes, Arts Festival general manager Tseng Sun-man said a little diffidently when details of the three-week cultural binge were announced.
Theme? Who needs it when you have officially come of age and can say many happy returns to ensembles and artists of the calibre of the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Carl Davis, Cleo Laine and more? Tonight, the curtain rises on the 21st Hongkong Arts Festival and yes, fantasy - along with major new attractions - is a key component. It will certainly infect the Cultural Centre Grand Theatre where, starting this evening, audiences will be swept into the glittering world of 18th century Vienna.
With a running time of four hours, Der Rosenkavalier is the most ambitious opera yet staged by the Arts Festival and should deliver entertainment of the highest order.
Led by celebrated British soprano Josephine Barstow and accompanied by the Hongkong Philharmonic, the world-class cast will perform Richard Strauss' poignant comedy about an aristocratic woman of the world who discovers to her pain that passion, youth and beauty are all too fleeting.
Limited tickets remain for Der Rosenkavalier - as they do for all the festival openers.
SETTING a new duration record will be Abel Gance's 1929 epic, Napoleon (tonight and tomorrow at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium). The 51/2 hours of meticulously restored film will be accompanied by Carl Davis' score.