You may be intrigued as you pick up this Festival Guide.
'Fill Your Senses’?
Indeed, the Singapore Arts Festival 2001 hopes to treat all your senses this year with the best in classical and contemporary works. The annual Singapore Arts Festival is the premier arts event of its kind here.
Following on the success of last year, the Festival continues to feature innovative and cutting edge performances that explore new
realms of stage craft. For 25 days, the air will be electric with the excitement of 32 productions from 20 countries.
Once again, the Festival maintains its international outlook with a strong Asian focus. Besides contributions from a host of Singaporean artists and arts groups, it will also feature such world-renowned groups as the Philip Glass Ensemble, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre and
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet. This year, we also welcome two new countries to the Festival - Colombia and Sweden.
Further, the Festival has carved out its unique identity. Through collaborations and commissions, a good number of the performances this year are either Asian or World Premieres. One Hundred Years in Waiting combines the expertise of The Necessary Stage and The Theatre Practice; UROBOS: Project Time involves four countries from different regions; and Confucius - A Secular Cantata, composed by Singaporean composer Phoon Yew Tien, will be presented by Singapore Chinese Orchestra. These World Premieres are only some of the excellent performances to watch out for.
The Singapore Arts Festival 2001 is indeed an event for everyone. With themes such as love, desire, loss and war, in settings from the historical to the futuristic, audiences will be spoilt for choice. The shows range from the classical to the contemporary, shows for kids and the family, to shows for the serious arts enthusiast. Besides the core programmes, there are many other performances for the public to enjoy. The Festival Village will open the Festival with rousing traditional performances at Fort Canning Park. Arts on the Move will bring free performances to surprising places all over the island. The Late Nite Series continues to be a showcase of young, up and coming local artists. Finally, join us at the Festival's Closing Celebrations for Tower of Light.
On behalf of the National Arts Council, a big thank you to our partners who have made the Festival possible with their generous sponsorship and contributions.
I wish you all a splendid and memorable time at the Festival.
– Liu Thai Ker (National Arts Council Chairman)
(Source: National Arts Council Programme)