Next Summer's Edinburgh International Festival will focus on the cultures of Asia and the influence of Eastern cultures on artists in the West. Announcing the Festival 2011 theme ‘To the Far West’ in Beijing today, Festival Director Jonathan Mills promised "a heady three weeks of exquisite artistic exploration which I hope will intoxicate audiences."
Mills revealed four companies will be making Festival debuts: The National Ballet of China, Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra with Chief Conductor Myung-Whun Chung, and Vietnamese choreographer Ea Sola’s company.
As well as bringing artists from China, India, Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Vietnam to Edinburgh, the EIF will also explore the work of western artists inspired by the ‘Far East’. The Asian theme for 2011 follows on neatly from the New World theme of 2010, and European focus in 2009.
Mills said: "The exquisite and sensual cultures of Asia have long inspired western artists. Festival 2011 sets these works alongside theatre, opera, music and dance from the diverse cultures of Asia, from Vietnam to China; taking audiences on a journey to immerse themselves in the beauty, traditions and distinctive philosophies of Asian cultures both ancient and modern."
The shows
National Ballet of China will perform Peony Pavillion. At the heart of the production is one of China’s most famous classical love stories. Young Chinese choreographer Fei Bo’s first full length work features music by acclaimed composer Guo Wenjing, costumes by Academy Award winning designer Emi Wada, and the superb dancers of the National Ballet of China.
The glamour and spectacle of traditional Peking Opera should be in evidence in Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe’s East-meets-West adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan is set in the fictitious Realm of the Red City and stars some of China’s most famed performers.
The Chinese Government has provided "substantial" support for the festival programme.
‘The support foreign governments give their artists and companies invited to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival helps to make some of our ambitions a reality," said Mills, who is in Beijing as a guest of the Chinese Ministry of Culture for a lecture series on the benefits festivals can bring to mid-size cities.
"I thank the Chinese Ministry of Culture for its generous support of the National Ballet of China and the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe as they represent their country on the Festival’s world stage in 2011."
Mr Xiang Xiaowei, Assistant Director General, Bureau for External Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture said: "The Edinburgh International Festival is a prestigious cultural event. It is also an excellent opportunity for our nation to showcase the best of our artists to the world. The People’s Republic of China is proud to support the appearances of both the National Ballet of China and Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe at next year’s Festival."
In the first of the other two productions, Chief Conductor Myung-Whun Chung brings the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra to the Festival for the first time. Appointed the first Honorary Cultural Ambassador for South Korea and a former UNESCO Man of the Year, his international profile has boosted the orchestra’s global presence and acclaim. The Orchestra’s visit to the Festival is supported by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
In Drought and Rain (re-creation 2011), Vietnamese choreographer Ea Sola celebrates cultural memory and meditates on the human cost of war. Bringing together elderly women from the North Delta of Vietnam with young dancers from the Vietnam Opera Ballet, Ea Sola explores how cultural traditions are passed on to new generations in the hope of sustaining and developing the distinct identity. It is a co-production with Napoli Teatro Festival Italia and Sadler’s Wells.
The full programme for the Edinburgh International Festival 2011 will be announced in Edinburgh on Wednesday 23 March 2011.