The 19TH Macao International Music Festival
By Brenda Ines Lo

Have you ever imagined how fantastic it can be to enjoy classical music events in the Dom Pedro V Theatre?

Every year the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Government of Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) organizes the Macau International Music Festival (MIMF) and annually brings the artists and musicians coming from all over the world to perform a fantastic show in Macau. This year, the 19th MIMF began on October 7 and will last till November 6. Just as before, audiences from all over the world were attracted to come to Macau to join this festival which is very influential in the Far East.

The Dom Pedro V Theatre at night.

I went to see the program "The Oriental Angels" which is a musical program with various outstanding actresses playing Chinese instruments with the world music which took place in the Dom Pedro V Theatre. Besides enjoying seeing how these angels combine Chinese instruments with the world music, I also loved the venue of this program. This theatre was built in 1860, which was the first western style theatre in China and only opened for important public events and celebrations.

A friend of mine who is now working in the Cultural Affairs Bureau said, "The Dom Pedro V Theatre is a new venue for this year's music festival." She also mentioned that as it has now been inscribed on the World Heritage List and the theatre is a highly significant cultural landmark in the context of the community, so it is a good idea to include it as one of the venues for the festival. "And one arrangement which is quite different from previous festivals is that more programs are arranged to be held in either outdoors or in churches in order to let the audience have a chance to feel how culture and history have baptized these historic buildings, "she explained.

As one of the audiences in the Dom Pedro V Theatre, I could really feel the culture and history this building embodies. And this historic building looks greatly different between day and night. During day time, it just looks like other historic buildings. But at night, the entire building is covered by the purple and pink spotlight, having a combined image of old and modern. While the angels were playing the Chinese instruments inside this western style theatre, I had a strong feeling that they were blending the eastern and western cultures.

This year's festival offers 16 programs altogether. Out of these 16 programs, 10 programs are held outdoors or in churches such as St. Dominic's Church, Dom Pedro V Theatre, Ruins of St. Paul's, Cathedral and Mount Fortress. For other programs, they are held in either the Macau Cultural Centre or Macau Tower.

This year's highlight program was West Side Story (by Leonard Bernstein 1920-1989) presented by The Broadway Asia Company in America. And it was the grand opening for its Asian Tour.

If you miss the chance of exposing yourself in the programs of this year's music festival, don't worry; there are some more upcoming international musical and artistic events organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau during November and December!