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Chloe Loung

The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) has increasingly been pushing audiences to embrace the unfamiliar, and its 55th edition is certainly breaking new ground.
On August 6, the first batch of confirmed highlights in the 2027 festival reveals that the finale will be performed by the State Ballet Company of the Astana Opera (Kazakhstan).
Furthermore, while HKAF once brought over the likes of the Royal Shakespeare Company for classical renditions of the Bard’s works, this edition really leans into the trend of contemporary, mixed-genre adaptations, with four different programmes in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. Then there is the continuing embrace of arts and tech, with a virtual Yuja Wang appearing as a hologram.
Here are the highlights of the 2027 Hong Kong Arts Festival:
Classical masterpieces

Opening night
Chopin gold medallist Bruce Liu will perform Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra on February 18, 2027. While Liu may be a familiar face in Hong Kong, this will be the orchestra’s first appearance in the city since music director Charles Dutoit’s 25-year tenure ended in 2002. The orchestra, conducted by music director Rafael Payare, will also perform a second concert programme featuring pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko.
St Matthew Passion
The St Thomas Choir of Leipzig – boasting a direct lineage to J.S. Bach, who served as cantor from 1723 to 1750 – and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig will perform the choral masterpiece 300 years after its premiere, at St Thomas Church. A must for Bach fans.
Cello masterclass
British cellist Steven Isserlis returns for a solo recital of Beethoven’s works for cello and piano, accompanied by Connie Shih.

Reimagining the Bard
Macbeth
Hu Jun – a familiar face who has appeared in at least four previous HKAF productions – will star alongside his wife, Lu Fang, in a new Chinese-language production directed by France’s Arthur Nauzyciel.
The Last Hamlet
The UK’s Lost Dog dance theatre company returns to Hong Kong after four years with the Asia premiere of this production, billed as an inventive mix of stand-up comedy and dance theatre.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Another dance-centric take on the tragedy, co-created by Canadians Guillaume Côté and Robert Lepage, a festival favourite.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
German choreographer Alexander Ekman and Ballett Dortmund will reimagine the classic fairy tale as a surreal midsummer ritual.
Non-Shakespearean drama

Lysistrata
Postponed during the 2026 festival, this Chinese adaptation of Aristophanes’ comedy, co-produced with the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre and directed by Katerina Evangelatos, finally makes its debut.
The True Story of Ah Q
A new cross-cultural commission by the festival after the success of The Drunkard in 2026, this is a Cantonese-language adaptation of German writer Christoph Hein’s rewrite of Lu Xun’s modern Chinese classic.
Tristan & Yseult
A new work from British director Emma Rice, whose creative staging of Wuthering Heights delighted HKAF audiences in 2025.
Expanding global horizons

The State Ballet Company of Astana Opera Theatre
The dance ensemble based in Astana, Kazakhstan, presents two programmes, a double bill of Roland Petit’s L’Arlésienne and Carmen alongside a full production of the gladiator epic Spartacus in classical Russian style, a celebration of “male virtuosity”. The latter is the festival finale.
Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana
Slovenia’s national opera and ballet company represents Eastern Europe with performances of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims and Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus.
Musical crossovers

Playing with Fire
In 2026, the HKAF brought Ryuichi Sakamoto back to life through a “mixed reality” concert featuring a hologram of the Japanese musician. Next year, it is superstar pianist Yuja Wang’s turn at virtual performance. Using augmented and virtual reality, Playing with Fire, which premiered in Paris in 2025, will allow ticket holders to get close to the image of the artist as she performs works by Bach, Ravel, Debussy and Prokofiev.
K-pop symphonic series
K-pop stars Ryeowook (from Super Junior) and Wendy (from Red Velvet) will perform alongside the Hankyung arte Philharmonic in a programme of K-pop hits arranged for orchestra. Conducted by Yuwon Kim, the first Korean and first woman to receive the Robert Spano Conductor Prize at the Aspen Music Festival.
As in previous years, the full schedule and ticketing details for the 2027 Hong Kong Arts Festival will be released around October, with final dates locked in closer to the festival’s run in February and March. For more information, visit hk.artsfestival.org.


What not to miss at the 2027 Hong Kong Arts Festival, from classical music to Shakespeare

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Performing arts in Hong Kong

German choreographer Alexander Ekman offers a different take on the Bard with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, performed by Ballett Dortmund. Photo: HKAF

Rafael Payare, music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, will perform at the 55th Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2027. Photo: Antoine Sato

British cellist Steven Isserlis will appear at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2027. Photo: HKAF

Emma Rice’s production of Tristan & Yseult will be a highlight of HKAF 2027. Photo: HKAF

Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana will perform Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims and Johann Strauss II’s  Die Fledermaus. Photo: HKAF

Chinese pianist Yuja Wang in Playing with Fire, a mixed-reality concert that premiered in Paris in 2025. Photo: HKAF

Colleen Lee performs with the New Hong Kong Philharmonia in “Colleen Lee Plays Bach’s Keyboard Concertos” at the Hong Kong City Hall on July 27, 2026. Photo: NHKP

The New Hong Kong Philharmonia players were arranged in an acoustically balanced semicircle around soloist Colleen Lee. Photo: NHKP

Lee was on top form throughout the evening. Photo: NHKP

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Hwang Jung-min in a still from Hope, one of our picks of features to catch at the 2026 Cine Fan Summer International Film Festival in Hong Kong.

Zhang Songwen in a still from Secret in the Box.

Young Chinese pianist sensation Lyu Tianyao, 17, on her love of Chopin and new album deal

Lyu Tianyao, a 17-year-old Chinese classical pianist who is already a Chopin Competition finalist, recently signed a multi-album deal with Decca Classics. Details of her debut album, which will centre on Chopin, will be announced soon. Photo: courtesy of Universal Music Group

Lyu Tianyao at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Poland, on October 11, 2025. She earned a joint-fourth overall finish. Photo: Wojciech Grzedzinski for the Fryderyk Chopin Institute

Lyu performs during the final stage of the 2025 International Chopin Piano Competition. Lyu grew up in a musical household in Beijing. Photo: Wojciech Grzedzinski for the Fryderyk Chopin Institute

Lyu has secured a multi-album deal with Decca Classics. Photo: courtesy of Universal Music Group

“The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Meet Mona Lisa & Portraying the Renaissance”, a new exhibition with four Leonardo da Vinci manuscripts showcased at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum’s exhibition, Sha Tin. 02MAY26   SCMP/Dickson Lee

Visitors at “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Meet Mona Lisa & Portraying the Renaissance” exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin in May 2026. Photo: Dickson Lee

French street theatre company Compagnie Remue Ménage perform at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong, as part of the French May Arts Festival in 2025. Photo: Eugene Lee

Julien-Loic Garin, former CEO of the French May Arts Festival and the current executive director of the Foundation for Art and Culture. Photo: courtesy of Julien-Loic Garin

Mehdi Brit, the French May Arts Festival’s executive director. Photo: Zoe Chenzhuo

Alliance Francaise de Hong Kong’s executive director Julia Liotard-Vogt. Photo: Karma Lo

The historic Haw Par Mansion in Tai Hang is being revitalised as part of a project led by the Foundation for Art and Culture. Photo: Edmond So

Julien-Loic Garin, then CEO of Le French May, walks down steps featuring replicas of works by Peter Paul Rubens that are housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, as part of the exhibition “Inventing le Louvre: From Palace to Museum over 800 Years” at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin in 2017. Photo: Dickson Lee

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The 55th Hong Kong Arts Festival mixes the familiar and the eclectic, with a virtual Yuja Wang and Shakespeare renditions among highlights


The 55th Hong Kong Arts Festival mixes the familiar and the eclectic, with a virtual Yuja Wang and Shakespeare renditions among highlights.


World of performing arts

Hong Kong Arts Festival

Red Velvet

What not to miss at the 2027 Hong Kong Arts Festival, from classical music to Shakespeare

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The 55th Hong Kong Arts Festival mixes the familiar and the eclectic, with a virtual Yuja Wang and Shakespeare renditions among highlights

Classical masterpieces

The 55th Hong Kong Arts Festival mixes the familiar and the eclectic, with a virtual Yuja Wang and Shakespeare renditions among highlights