Beijing

Three brothers return

Beijing People's Art Theater is restaging its 1995 classic play God's Favorite (Tianzhi Jiaozi), part of playwright Guo Qihong's historic trilogy. Set in the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-280), the play tells of the fights among three brothers Cao Pi, Cao Zhang and Cao Zhi, who were sons of warlord Cao Cao. The play tries to look at history from new perspectives: personal existence and reasonableness of values.

7:30 pm, till Feb 15 (except Feb 9 and 10). Capital Theater, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-5949-2221.

Opera and cross-talk

Renowned Peking Opera artist Mei Baojiu, son of the master Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), is going to perform classic Peking Opera pieces, Drunken Concubine and Red Cliff, at a Spring Festival gala held in Beijing. The gala also stars established Chinese folk-art singers, including Geng Fenglian and pingshu (storytelling performance) master Liu Lanfang. Young generation cross-talk performers, including Gao Xiaopan and Wang Yuebo, will also share the stage during the show.

7:30 pm. Feb 8. Great Hall of the People, west of Tian'anmen Square. 010-6554-6677, 400-610-3721.

Shanghai

Film meets glass

The founders of the Liuli China Museum, Chang Yi and Loretta Yang, are filmmakers-turned-glass artists. While the museum is dedicated to glass art, Chang and Yang carried on their passion for movie-making. The museum will present 59 micro-animation movies in the coming three months, including their own productions and those from studios and institutes from Paris and Taiwan.

10 am-6 pm, Jan 29-April 30. Liuli China Museum, 25 Taikang Road Shanghai. 021-6467-2268.

Life up a creek

Lu Jie, a photographer with Shanghai Pictorial, and Qian Xiaokun, a program planner in Docu China, will host a salon titled "Geographic Images of Shanghai - Suzhou Creek". Lu recorded the changes at Suzhou Creek over the past 10 years, giving a comprehensive view of the ups and downs of people and buildings along the river.

2 pm, Feb 2. MoCA Shanghai, People's Park, 231 Nanjing Road W, Shanghai. 021-6327-9900.

Cartoon tunes

Young pianist Tan Xiaotang and violinist Liu Xiao will give a concert with a band named Totoro. The program comprises music from renowned animation movies from home and abroad.

7:30 pm, Feb 12. Shanghai Concert Hall, 523 Yan'an Road East, Shanghai. 021-6386-2836.

Guangzhou

Music of the city

Hong Kong lyricist Chris Shum Wai-chung will share how he captures the beauty of Cantonese as he writes expressive lyrics with catchy rhymes. Shum's award-winning works include Crossroad, which was named Best Original Film Song at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards in 2006. He is also the man behind the vivid Cantonese translations of songs in renowned musicals such as The Sound of Music and West Side Story. Shum says lyrics are closely related to the city where the language is born and used. Besides telling anecdotes of his lyrics writing in the past 20 years, Shum will also explain the connections between lyrics and urban culture.

3 pm-5 pm, Feb 3. Fangsuo Commune, TaiKoo Hui Shopping Mall, 383 Tianhe Lu, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3868-2327.

Pottery with stories

More than 120 exquisite pieces of Tang tri-color pottery are on display in Guangzhou until Feb 27. The craft with yellow, brown and green as basic colors prevailed in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). The exhibits showcase the arts, customs and people's daily lives in that prosperous era. For example, vivid designs portray beautiful dancing women in colorful dress.

9 am-5:30 pm, daily until Feb 27. The Museum of the Western Han Dynastry Mausoleum of the Nanyue King, 867 Jiefang Beilu, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou. 020-3618-2920.

Art of the needle

Flowers blossom on handbags and blankets hang over walls. These hand-sewn artworks, on exhibition in Guangzhou until Feb 24, display the beauty of Chinese needlework. In the old days of China, a fair lady was expected to be a master at needlework. Visitors can appreciate the creations of Chen Shaofang, a master of Cantonese embroidery, and fashionable accessories designed by Zhang Xiaochuan, a rising designer and a native of Guangzhou.

11 am-11 pm, daily until Feb 24. Third Floor, Goelia 225 Commune, 225 Beijing Lu, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou. 020-8336-0050.

Quick pick

Russian ballet nights

The Russian National Ballet Theater, which was founded in Moscow in the 1980s, will present three classics, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker to Beijing audiences. Besides accompanying the ballet shows, the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra will present a New Year concert with world-renowned works. The performances are part of the Spring of Ballet program launched by the Beijing XDR Cultural and Communication Company in 2000.

7:30 pm. Feb 10 (New Year concert by Russian Philharmonic Orchestra); Feb 11, 12, 16 (Swan Lake); Feb 13,14 (Sleeping Beauty); Feb 15, (The Nutcracker). Poly Theater, Poly Plaza, Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng district. 010-6504-6966, 010-6504-6962.

- Chen Jie

China Daily

(China Daily 02/01/2013 page20)