The Suzhou Shishan Grand Theater was officially opened in Suzhou New District on the evening of Aug. 31. The opening concert was jointly staged by the Suzhou Chinese Orchestra and the Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra. Zha Yingdong, vice mayor of Suzhou, attended the event.
The Suzhou Shishan Grand Theatre is jointly managed and operated by SND Cultural Tourism Group and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, which showcases the close cooperation between Shanghai and Suzhou in promoting the development of the cultural industry.
At the opening concert, the artists of the Suzhou Chinese Orchestra played music pieces such as “The Peony Pavilion” based on Kunqu opera under the baton of Peng Jiapeng and the Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra performed selections from classic operas such as “The Marriage of Figaro”, “Madame Butterfly” and “Turandot” following conductor Xu Zhong.
The Suzhou Shishan Grand Theater has the capacity to host a variety of performances such as symphony concerts, traditional Chinese operas, musicals, dance dramas, and modern dramas. It will stage a slew of performances from September to meet the needs of different audiences. The highlights of the performance season will include the classic Western musical “The Phantom of the Opera”, the Chinese dance drama “Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting” inspired by “A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains” which is a masterpiece by Wang Ximeng, an ancient painter who lived during China’s Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), and the dance drama “The Eternal Wave” which pays homage to revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country.
