Shanghai Culture Square launches year-end performance season, three major plays make their China debut
On June 18, the Shanghai Culture Square 2024 year-end performance season was launched at the Musical Center, including seven major plays: the musical version of the original German musical "Rebecca", the original musical "Hamlet", the original musical "The Orphan of Zhao", the musical version of the original German musical "Ludwig II: The Return of the King" in concert, the original Italian musical "Casanova - Lover of Venice", the Italian national treasure-level children's choir-Antoniano Little Choir and the original French musical "Notre Dame de Paris".
From 2011 to 2023, the Shanghai Culture Square Year-end Drama has gone through 13 years, presenting 41 wonderful Chinese and foreign dramas and 605 performances, and the original intention of "choosing a good drama" for the audience remains unchanged. In this year's year-end performance season, three high-quality overseas original musicals will make their Chinese debut on the stage of the Culture Square, and classic Chinese and foreign masterpieces will return again.
Concert of the original German musical "Rebecca"
The original German musicals "Rebecca" and "Ludwig II: The Return of the King", which will be premiered in China, will be performed in the Cultural Square in the form of concerts. In the more than ten years since the Shanghai Cultural Square was rebuilt and opened, it has been deeply involved in German and Austrian musicals, and has achieved fruitful results in the market, cultivating emerging markets and core audiences. The German musicals "Elisabeth" and "Mozart!" were the Cultural Square's year-end dramas in 2014 and 2016, respectively, and both were performed for 40 consecutive shows, making the dreams of drama fans come true.
Antonia Kalinowski, who plays the heroine "I" in the original German musical "Rebecca", sang "Memories in a Bottle". "Rebecca" is adapted from Daphne du Maurier's novel of the same name. It is another successful German musical co-created by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levy. It tells the story of the heroine "I" and her series of exciting experiences at Manderley Manor after she met the wealthy gentleman Maxime de Winter.
Antonia Kalinowski, the lead actress of the original German musical "Rebecca"
The musical version of "Ludwig II: The Return of the King" has been performed at the Neuschwanstein Castle Music Theater in Füssen, Germany since 2016, and has become the most famous original musical in Germany in recent years. This musical, which features the integration of culture and tourism, is integrated with the Neuschwanstein Castle and the surrounding landscapes, creating an immersive atmosphere and continues to attract many audiences and tourists. The domestic debut of "Ludwig II: The Return of the King" will only be in Shanghai, and will retain a strong cast and a 65-member large band.
Ludwig II: The Return of the King Musical Concert
In addition, the original Italian musical "Casanova - Lover of Venice" will also make its debut in China. "Casanova" is adapted from Matteo Strukur's best-selling classic "Giacomo Casanova - The Ballad of Deadwood", which tells the legendary experience of adventurer Giacomo Casanova. At the press conference, the leading actor Gian Marco Sciaretti sang the "Casanova Theme Song" in the play. At the end of last year, Gian became well-known to Chinese audiences through the musical "Don Giovanni". "Casanova" is also Gian's first return 13 years after starring in many international works, and he performed this work in his mother tongue.
In addition to the premieres, the Cultural Square's year-end performance season also features many returning performances, including two original musicals from the Shanghai Xu Jun Drama Art Center, "The Orphan of Zhao" and "Hamlet."
"The Orphan of Zhao" has received widespread attention and praise since its premiere at the Cultural Square in 2021. The original musical "Hamlet" is based on Shakespeare's classics, using the prism of contemporary drama to integrate cross-cultural perspectives from the East and the West.
Xu Jun, the director of the two dramas, said: "It is an important task for Chinese artists to deeply root in originality. It is our goal to establish our national characteristics for China's original musicals and integrate the freehand aesthetics of the East into the style of musicals."
In addition, the Italian national treasure-level children's choir, Antoniano Choir, will return to the Shanghai Culture Square stage on the eve of the New Year 2025. They will bring the Chinese premiere of the winning songs of the latest Gold Coin Competition and sing the classic melodies that have been loved by the world for 67 years. At the same time, the most anticipated Chinese songs will also be sung by them as the finale.
The world-renowned classic French original musical "Notre Dame de Paris" will be performed as the finale of this year-end performance season. "Notre Dame de Paris" is adapted from the masterpiece of the same name by French literary giant Victor Hugo. It is known as the classic among French musical classics and has been performed all over the world for more than 20 years. Thirteen years ago, "Notre Dame de Paris" was performed as the first year-end drama in Shanghai Culture Square, and gradually developed into a classic musical that drama audiences must see. From 2019 to 2020, "Notre Dame de Paris" came to Shanghai twice, and every show was sold out. This time it comes to Shanghai again to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France with the sound of classics.
