Life

What's On

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-24 08:19

Beijing

Opera gala

The National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) will stage the 2010 NCPA World Classic Opera Gala Concert this weekend.

Conducted by Yu Feng, president and art director of the China National Opera House, the concert features domestic and overseas singers, including Chinese sopranos Dilber (pictured), who has been called the "Chinese Nightingale", and Zhang Liping; baritone Yuan Chenye, Hungarian mezzosoprano Viktoria Vizin and British tenor Barry Banks. The program includes Bizet's Overture from Carmen, Verdi's My Enchanted Heart from La Traviata and Donizetti's How Beautiful She Is from L'elisir d'Amore.

7:30 pm, Dec 24, 25. National Center for the Performing Arts, west of Tian'anmen Square. 010-6655-0000

Versatile calligrapher

Calligrapher Su Yue displays his works at the Rongbao Fine Arts Museum. A member of the Chinese Calligraphers' Association, Su has been plying his trade for more than 30 years. He is skillful in standard script, running style and seal characters. On display are more than 100 works covering scroll works, couplets and fan writings. Highlights are sutras in small regular characters.

10 am-5 pm, until Dec 26. Rongbao Fine Arts Museum, Liulichang Xijie, Xicheng district

Ceramics auction

The preview of Beijing Zhongjia International Auctions autumn sales is slated to run in January. On display are 88 selected ceramic pieces from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), created in royal kilns for emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. The auction will start at 8 pm on Jan 15 in the same venue.

9 am-5 pm, Jan 12-15. Grand Millennium Beijing, 7 Dongsanhuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang district. 010-8587-6888

German artist

German artist Bernd Schwarzer is holding his solo show in Beijing. The 57-year-old's oils, collages and installations are dominated by the colors of the German flag - black, red and gold. His early works depict scenes of human suffering, torture and crucifixions while the later works deal mainly with the pressing political issues of his time, such as the reunification of the East and West Germany, and the birth of the European Union.

10 am-5:30 pm, until Dec 28. Today Art Museum, 2/F, 32 Baiziwanlu, Chaoyang district. 010-5876-0600

Gongbi paintings

The solo exhibition of ethnic Korean artist Piao Chun-zi presents more than 40 of her gongbi zhongcai (heavy-color, fine-brush) paintings.

The gongbi genre, with a history of 1,000 years in China, declined in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) but saw a revival in the 1980s.

Her innovative and poetic paintings feature flowers, animals, landscapes as well as portraits of people from the nation's various ethnic groups.

9 am-5 pm, Dec 27-Jan 6. National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng district. 010-6401-7076

Solo show

A retrospective of veteran painter and educator Cai Jimin is now on in Beijing. On display are 70 of Cai's oil portraits and landscapes. A Hunan native, Cai began his teaching career in Hunan Normal University in 1961. The 80-year-old travels extensively, painting people, life and landscapes around the country.

9 am-5 pm, until Dec 27. National Art Museum of China. 010-6401-7076

Shanghai

Classic ballet

The Russian National Ballet will present Swan Lake. This much-loved ballet by Tchaikovsky is frequently staged all over the world and the Russian National Ballet production features a beautiful stage setting, elaborate costume design, and above all, outstanding dancers.

7:15 pm, Jan 7. Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 Renmin Avenue. 021-6120-4560

Riverdance finale

Catch the last performance of Riverdance in Shanghai, as part of the Irish company's final world tour. The company planned to close the show in March 2009, but put it on hold to assuage disappointed fans.

7:30 pm, Jan 12. Shanghai Grand Stage, 1111 Caoxi Beilu. 021-6120-4560

Nothing ordinary

Contemporary artist Zhang Enli's paintings look at everyday objects from different angles in different settings such as in a tree, a box or a bed. His solo exhibition purports to reveal the unlimited nuances of the language of painting.

9 am- 6 pm, Dec 31-Feb 13. Minsheng Museum of Modern Art, F, 570 Huaihai Xilu. 021-6282-8729