Economic booming Shanghai is not just about making money.

The port city enters a thriving season of arts and culture when the Sixth Shanghai Arts Festival opens today and runs until November 18.

In the month-long showcase -- sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and Shanghai municipal government -- over 60 live acts performed by artists from over 20 countries and regions will thrill audiences.

At the same time, the 2004 Asia Music Festival, Baoshan Folk Arts Festival, International Performing Arts Fair and a series of exhibitions will be launched.

Planned is a diversity of performances including classical and pop music, Western ballet and Chinese dance, Western and Chinese local opera -- and other multi-media theatrical productions.

Dance drama

The spectacular two-act dance drama "A Dream of Red Mansions" (Honglou Meng) produced by Shanghai City Dance Company will be staged at the opening ceremony.

"A Dream of Red Mansions" written by Cao Xueqin (?1715-?63) is one of the four most worldly-renowned Chinese ancient literature works that has been well read both at home and abroad.

Adapted from the novel, the dance focuses on the tragic love between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu.

Sun Mingzhang, general manager of the Shanghai City Dance Company, admits that adapting such a classical novel is extremely challenging as it is so famous that in China every reader has his or her own imagination of the main characters.

But choreographer Zhao Ming, who worked on "Farewell My Concubine" (Bawang Bieji) for the company last year, manages to simplify the complicated relationships between all the characters appearing in the novel by creating a poetic and dream-like dance version of the love story.

Starting in a dream, Jinghuan, a fairy foretells the fates of Jia, Lin and other girls in the Jia family. The first act focuses on the romance between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, the life of them and other girls of the Jia family in the Daguan Garden.

Some original major plots of the novel are featured in the first act such as Jia and Lin read the banned love-story "The West Chamber" (Xixiang Ji), Lin buries the fallen flowers, Jia and the girls form a saloon to compose poetry.

The second act is the tragic ending where Jia is cheated into marrying Xue Baochai whom he does not love. Lin burns her love poems before her death and Jia leaves home and becomes a monk after she dies.

In addition to ballet and Chinese dance numbers, choreographer Zhao borrows some acting patterns and movements unique in Chinese local operas, for example, the woman dancer flicks the long white silk sleeves.

Zhao confesses that he just read the classic novel once and his version an abridged edition. "It's hard to tell such a long story in a 90-minute dance. The simpler, the better. I catch the truest love between Lin and Jia from the simplest plots and details," he explains.

"As I prepared, I did not have the whole story in my mind. I just worked on every scene such as how Lin buries the fallen flowers, and how to display the wedding of Jia and Xue. The abridged scenes appear in my mind one after another and I then make notes."

Life and death

Zhao is satisfied with the two scenes. Lin falls ill and ultimately dies of heart-break after losing Jia. The jubilant wedding sharply contrasts with Lin's death. A large piece of red silk symbolizing the happy wedding separates Jia and Lin from life to death.

As for the scene of burying the fallen flowers, Zhao could not conceal his confidence of his interpretation, saying "it is most poetic and romantic compared with those in the previous versions of movie, TV, local opera and dance."

The score composed by Su Tsong helps to highlight the show. Su won the Oscar Award in 1988 for his composition for Bernrado Bertolucci's film "Last Emperor."

Su's score has two major themes -- hopeful love, mainly in Act I to highlight the romance between Lin and Jia. And a splendid symphonic tune to announce the grand wedding.

The score combines symphonic elements and Peking Opera and folk music from North China's Hebei Province.

Echoing the opening dance, the closing show of the arts festival will be Carlos Saura's Flamenco dance "Salome" which tells a classic story of jealousy, sensuality and revenge through the magic of Flamenco.

Saura is regarded as one of the best Spanish directors and noted film-makers in the world.

In this musical treatment of the Biblical legend of Salome, who asked for the head of John the Baptist in return for a dance, Saura, with his undying passion for dance, sharp insight and charisma, uses a fusion of music, dance, theatre, light and colour to examine the creative process, to celebrate art and to illustrate and review history and to construct dense and compelling narratives.

The talented Spanish dancer Aida Gomez is cast in the role of the female principal Salome. She was so outstanding in her skills that at the age of 17, she became the principal dancer of the Spanish National Ballet Company.

Chen Shenlai, head of the festival's organizing committee said highlights included "French Culture in Shanghai," a mini-festival within festival.

A dozen events by French artists include music, opera, dance and art. For example, the world premiere of French opera "Les Paladins" has attracted great attention from both French and Chinese artistic circles -- and French President Chirac.

Apart from "Les Paladins," the Ballet Classic "Sylvia" performed by dancers from the Opera de Paris and National Ballet of China has also drawn a lot of attention, according to Chen.

Experts from Shanghai Conservatory of Music believe the music category to be a faithful review of past performances, featuring several international masters who had performed rounds of the art festival including the noted conductor Christoph Eschenbachby, cellist Yo-yo Ma and tenor Andrea Bocelli.

Chen believes the comeback of these music masters shows past festivals have made these masters love the Shanghai audience.

Old and new

Both traditional Chinese opera and modern Chinese drama are on offer.

Liu Ping, a Shanghai-based drama critic, said: "The directors and the creative crews for the traditional Chinese operas are working hard to innovate their productions to attract more young people's attention rather than only retaining those middle aged and above viewers."

He pointed out that at least two operas -- Shanghai Kunju Opera House's "Peach Blossom Pink" (Yipian Taohua Hong) and Suzhou Kunju Opera House's "Peony Pavilion" (Mudan Ting) -- state these are operas for the young.

"Peach Blossom Pink" is an opera written by noted playwright Luo Huachen, and is about the romance between a brave but ugly woman warrior Zhong Wuyan and the king of Qi.

"Peony Pavilion" is the most noted work by Tang Xianzu (1550-1616) about the great love story between a beautiful young lady Du Liniang, and a handsome young man Liu Mengmei -- it is a Chinese version of "Sleeping Beauty."

The distinguished writer Bai Xianyong (Pai Hsien-yung) from Taiwan teamed up the young albeit excellent crew of Suzhou Kunqu Opera House to restore the ancient fairy tale especially for the young viewers.

Liu added that drama-lovers also show great interest in modern Chinese plays such as "Thunderstorm" produced by Shanghai Entertainment Tonight Co Ltd featuring an all-star cast, and "Golden Cangue" (Jinsuo Ji) produced by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre on the basis of noted female writer Eileen Chang's namesake novel.

Born and bred in Shanghai, Chang (1920-95) was recognized as one of the foremost writers of love stories and novels during her lifetime. Her works frequently deal with the tensions between men and women in love, and employ as a backdrop the historic background of Shanghai and Hong Kong in the 1930s to 1950s.

Publishing her first novel in 1943, Chang immediately became the most popular author in Shanghai. In 1952, she left Shanghai and worked for the American News Agency in Hong Kong. She moved to the United States in 1955, and also wrote several English novels, none of which has met the popularity her Chinese works had, however.

In 1995, she died alone in her apartment in the United States.

Adapted from the original novel, best-selling female writer Wang Anyi creates the dramatic script which tells the tragic life of Cao Qiqiao, who falls victim to the patriarchal familial system in the early 20th century and consciously exploits it to destroy the lives of others.

Cao lives half of her life tied by the "golden cangue," which symbolized the constraint and oppression of the powerful Jiang family which she married into.

Having led 30 unfulfilled years and destroying the only love she ever longed for, she grew bitter and vengeful.

The "golden cangue" that made her suffer also made others suffer, as Cao eagerly destroyed the happiness of others to repay her suffering.

The famous movie director Huang Shuqin directs the play. Wu Mian acts Cao and Peking Opera actor Guan Dongtian performs the leading female role.

"I liked the role as soon as I got the script. It's a good opportunity for an actress but also a challenge. Cao is a very sophisticated woman and I will act from her 20s to 50s," said Wu.

Aside from the Chinese dramas, artists from abroad also bring many works such as the mime show by the Alithea Mime Theatre from the US. Since 1990, founder and artistic director Nicholas Johnson has created many productions of single and multi-discipline performances such as "Angels Rising" and "Asylum."

The Alithea Mime Theatre has toured and performed at the International Mime Art Festival held in Warsaw, Poland, in May 2000, and the First International Mime and Physical Theatre Festival in the Caribbean, San Juan, Puerto Rico, in May 2001.

As for the art exhibition, over 10 shows including the highly-acclaimed Shanghai Biennale and Shanghai Art Fair will be held during the one-month art festival.

(China Daily October 15, 2004)