FOR THE PAST six weeks a team of Chinese-Americans have tried to train the spotlight back on Shanghai, after Sars blacked out what was to be an unprecedented summer of cultural activity in the city.
Next week an all-star cast of Chinese artists will descend on the city with a raft of concerts to show the world that Shanghai is alive and well. Held over a week at three venues, 'Inspired By China's Roots' will feature the pianist Lang Lang; the principal dancer of the San Francisco Ballet, Tan Yuan Yuan, and Metropolitan Opera star Tian Hao Jiang. Joining these big-name contemporary artists will be shamans and folk artists from Hunan and Yunnan provinces in a festival whose focus is to fuse the ancient cultures of Chinese folk tradition with the innovations of modern art.
'It all happened at breathtaking speed,' explains festival director Shirley Young. When the World Health Organisation gave the all-clear in June. 'We decided that there should be something to let the world know Shanghai is open for business again.'
Booking big names was not a problem. Young is one of the founding members of the Committee of 100 - a high-profile society of Chinese-American 'leaders' in arts, science and business, founded by the likes of architect I.M. Pei and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
'We had the idea of these Chinese-American international artists being inspired by the Chinese cultural legacy to create something new and to bring it forward,' says Young in her strong New York accent. 'There has been criticism that in spite of all the beautiful theatres we have in China, everybody is doing the traditional stuff. What's new coming out of China?'
Tan Dun was the first artist to be approached. Originally booked to stage his sprawling opera, Tea, at the end of this month with the Netherlands Opera - a project that has been years in the making and was postponed until next year due to the outbreak - the artist swiftly agreed to return with the China premiere of a different show, The Map: Concerto For Cello, Video And Orchestra, which opened to great critical acclaim in Boston in February and enjoyed a successful run at New York's Carnegie Hall.