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World of performing arts

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World of performing arts
News and reviews of the performing arts – ballet, contemporary dance, opera, theatre, musicals and more – in and around Hong Kong and beyond.
Ye Feifei performs as Princess Aurora and Davi Ramos as Prince Desire in the premiere of Vladimir Malakhov’s Sleeping Beauty by Hong Kong Ballet at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on May 29, 2026. Photo: Tony Luk
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Superb first half let down by second in Hong Kong Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty

Strong dancing was marred by a rushed and confused second-half narrative in HKB’s production of Vladimir Malakhov’s The Sleeping Beauty.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory stars on bringing the musical to Hong Kong

Music

Gustavo Dudamel on his enduring love of Los Angeles ahead of NY Phil move

TV shows and streaming video

‘Burning desire’: Hong Kong-born actress Kaja Chan on her rise and motivation

London-based actress who has appeared on Bridgerton and worked with Jeff Goldblum shares how ‘clarity of vision’ drove her from a young age.

Kaja Chan, born and raised in Hong Kong, is a London-based actress across theatre, television and video games. She talks about how her passion led her to pursue a career in acting and shares advice to young performers who want to follow in her footsteps. Photo: Phil Sharp
Donald Trump

US judge orders Trump’s name removed from Kennedy Centre

The judge also blocked the administration from closing the iconic arts venue for major renovations.

Classical music

Meet Daniel Harding, new LA Phil music director with deep Asia ties

Gustavo Dudamel’s successor, who is an Air France pilot and mentor to young musicians, has agreed to a six-year contract with the LA Phil.

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Music

How sitarist Anoushka Shankar broke her creative block after the pandemic

Shankar, who is playing in Hong Kong on June 3, describes the creative process behind her three-part album Chapters and what’s next.

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Anoushka Shankar will perform in Hong Kong on June 3. She is bringing her Chapters tour to the city for a premiere alongside the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and guest conductor Robert Ames. Photo: Laura Lewis
Performing arts in Hong Kong

‘I am hungry’: Elim Chan on taking the lead at the San Francisco Symphony

The Hong Kong-born conductor shares why she’s excited to lead the ‘velvety, warm’ SFS and how San Francisco feels ‘a bit like’ her home city.

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Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Shakespeare festival offers fresh takes on the Bard’s classics

The nine Shakespeare adaptations include a Cantonese version of Othello starring TVB actress Mandy Wong and a story of Hamlet’s Ophelia.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Hong Kong-born Elim Chan becomes first woman to lead San Francisco Symphony

Rising maestro emerged as a surprise choice and will begin her six-year term at the famed orchestra in September 2027.

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Elim Chan conducts the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra during a performance at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall in November 2024. Photo: Keith Hiro/HK Phil
Performing arts in Hong Kong

East meets West in melodic concert blending the suona with the organ

Organist Eric Chan will make his Hong Kong debut in a programme that marries the Western pipe organ with the suona, a Chinese woodwind.

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Organist Eric Chan (second left) and suona players Guo Yazhi (left) and Chrysoberyl Chan (right) are joined by Kerry Stevens, chairman of the Auckland Town Hall Organ, before a performance at the New Zealand venue under Chan’s “Pipe Organ Through East and West” programme in May 2026. Photo: courtesy of Eric Chan
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Soprano-pianist Rachel Fenlon wows in dexterous Hong Kong debut

Fenlon was the epitome of coordination in a near-flawless self-accompanied performance of Schubert’s Winterreise at Hong Kong City Hall.

William Shakespeare

A female Hamlet, a BMW-driving Hamlet: how Shakespeare’s play is having a moment

Fresh, vibrant and inclusive, new Hamlet productions are part of a wave of interest in the Shakespearean tragedy seen from stages to TikTok.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | East meets West as Opera Hong Kong’s Carmen takes place in 1970s Hong Kong

Opera Hong Kong’s bold Hong Kong-set Carmen reimagines Bizet’s classic with triad gangsters, Cantonese lines and electrifying performances.

Marie Gautrot (centre) as Carmen in Opera Hong Kong’s fourth production of Georges Bizet’s masterpiece, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, in Tsim Sha Tsui, on May 7, 2026. Photo: Opera Hong Kong
South Korean celebrities

Pioneering South Korean soprano Sumi Jo joins K-pop label, sings with Exo’s Suho

Sumi Jo opens up on great moments in her 40-year career, her new album Continuum, and why she signed with K-pop label SM Entertainment.

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South Korean soprano Sumi Jo performs at the Griminelli & Friends concert in Italy on November 20, 2019.
What to do in Hong Kong

5 of the best things to do in Hong Kong this Mother’s Day weekend, May 8-10

From an artisan Mother’s Day market to food, fashion and music, check out our recommendations for things to do around the city this weekend.

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Performing arts in Hong Kong

HK Phil’s compressed Ring cycle recording is Wagner made accessible

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s recording of Wagner: The Ring – An Orchestral Adventure is a symphonic narrative of just over an hour.

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LGBTQ

Drag Race royalty Manila Luzon on Asian representation and challenging taboos

The RuPaul’s Drag Race ‘OG’ opens up on representing Filipino drag, hosting reality show Drag Den, and appearing on Worst Cooks in America.

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American drag queen Manila Luzon performs at Fa Gai in Central, Hong Kong. She reflects on her career, Asian representation in drag, pushing boundaries on television, and giving others a platform through the reality TV show Drag Den. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Performing arts in Hong Kong

Yo-Yo Ma, Gustavo Dudamel among stars of HK Phil’s 2026-27 season

Nobuyuki Tsujii and Eric Lu also feature in a top line-up for Tarmo Peltokoski’s first season as the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s music director.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Incredible works of Wu Guanzhong reimagined in Hong Kong dance crossover

Featuring music by Cantopop star Ivana Wong, the Hong Kong Dance Company’s new cross-disciplinary production explores Wu’s visual language.

Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Find classical music and opera boring? Hong Kong production aims to change that

A new production aims to make classical music accessible and engaging by fusing opera, contemporary dance, theatre and media art.

Mo Lai Yan-chi (left) directs a rehearsal session for The Diary, a new music-theatre production from Hong Kong’s Anima Ensemble that combines opera, contemporary dance, theatre and media art. Photo: Anima Ensemble
Obituaries

‘Bad boy of classical music’, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, dies at 81

Former child prodigy Michael Tilson Thomas led many of the world’s top orchestras, including 25 years with the San Francisco Symphony.

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in Sibelius’s Symphony No 2 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on March 24, 2015. The renowned conductor has died at the age of 81. Photo: Los Angeles Times/TNS
Music

A stroke paralysed pianist’s right hand. Now he wows crowds with just his left

Inspired by his music teacher, South Korean pianist Lee Hun now plays left-hand music only after a stroke paralysed his entire right side.

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How Japan’s kabuki theatre legacies are kept in the family

In the traditional Japanese art form, which featured in the Oscar-nominated Kokuho, names and skills are passed down through generations.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | Hong Kong Ballet brilliantly dances to Beyond, Queen and Depeche Mode

Hong Kong Ballet’s ‘Glam Rock’ triple bill was a feast of popular music and dance that showcased its dancers’ versatility.

Dancers perform Andonis Foniadakis’ Strangelove, part of Hong Kong Ballet’s “Glam Rock” programme at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, in April 2026. Photo: Conrad Dy-Liacco
Sexual harassment and assault

‘A system of slavery’: ex-geisha apprentice on the dark side of the tradition

Kiyoha Kiritaka says she left Kyoto’s geisha world after experiencing sexual harassment, physical and verbal abuse, and more.

Maiko (apprentice geisha) are seen in Kyoto, Japan. An ex-maiko describes how she left the geisha tradition - which she describes as an “extremely abnormal world” - after she says she experienced sexual harassment, physical and verbal abuse, and more. Photo: AFP
Art

A legendary opera singer on playing the ‘bad boy’ on stage

Bryn Terfel’s journey as one of opera’s most commanding voices, from singing at King Charles’ coronation to Verbier Festival’s inaugural China edition.

Performing arts in Hong Kong

Review | South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim, 22, wows the Hong Kong Arts Festival

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields put on a spirited performance with South Korean pianist Yunchan Lim and guest conductor Wilson Ng.

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