The 22nd Macao International Music Festival (MIMF) will present a delightful variety of music from October 5 to November 2.

Music lovers from all over the world will be treated to classic melodies and rhythms coupled with mesmerising notes, narrating a romance of art from the beginning to end.

Each year the prestigious MIMF offers a great musical program, including choirs, orchestras, singers and musicians from the east as well as the west.

Performances take place in a number of different venues ranging from churches and theaters to open-air spaces and park pavilions dazzling tourists and residents alike.

MIMF, which will start from October 5 and end on November 2, will present opera, symphonic choral and chamber music, as well as contemporary, folk, pop and jazz music, according to the Cultural Institution of Macau, the event organizer.

The music festival will feature a trio of operas produced by Opera de Nice in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Giacomo Puccini's birth.

As the period of the festival coincides with the birth anniversary of the legendary Italian composer, his masterpiece trilogy Il Trittico, which was produced by Opera de Nice from France, will be staged in Macao for three consecutive nights, the institution said in its website.

Aside from the dedication to Puccini, more international artists will travel to the enclave this year, demonstrating a rich diversity of performing arts.

Seventeen programs of different musical art forms from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Portugal, the US, Canada, Australia and the Chinese mainland will bathe Macao's stages in both ancient and experimental sonic colors.

The renowned Britain's national orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), will conduct the opening performance.

The London-based RPO, one of the world's most well-established orchestra, won its early fame in the 1950s by numerous stereophonic recordings of masterpieces composed by Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert.

Another significant aspect of the festival will be chorus from different countries which will stage their performances in Macao's churches during the festival, said Ho Lai-chun, president of the Institution.

These choruses include the distinguished Hungarian Ars Nova Vocal Ensemble, the St. Florian Boys' Choir and the Hannover Girls' Choir. The Ars Nova Vocal Ensemble will be performing with Macao Orchestra to stage an all-Mozart program in the city's St. Dominic Church.

The Macao Orchestra just introduced its new conductor Lu Jia, who is "a reputed Chinese conductor, and we feel so honored to have him conduct our orchestra," said Ho.

To match the festival's theme of "dynamic encounter between East and West", the festival will also feature Chinese folk music.

In addition, there will be workshops and conferences to stimulate public interest in the arts. As in previous years, some of the performing groups' rehearsals will be open to the public, according to the institution.

More information is available at Cultural Affairs Bureau of Macao's website: www.icm.gov.mo.

(China Daily September 24, 2008)