Asia Society Hong Kong & French May Arts Festival to Present ‘Le Toréador, ou l’Accord Parfait’

By David Salazar

French May Arts Festival, in collaboration with the Asia Society in Hong Kong, will present the Hong Kong premiere of Adolphe Adam’s “Le Toréador, ou l’Accord Parfait” on June 6, 2024.

The showcase will star soprano Etta Fung, tenor Chen Yong, and baritone Isaac Droscha. The opera will be directed by Peter Gordon with Marco Iannelli as the music director. Hsu Wei-En will be the pianist and concertmaster for the evening with Lorna Chan as the producer.

The comic opera is described as “a ménage-a-trois between an erstwhile soprano, her oft-absent and unfaithful husband, and a previous lover, a flautist in the orchestra. The work features famous variations on the folk-song “Ah! vous dirai-je, maman” (better known as “Twinkle, twinkle, little star” in the English-speaking world).”

“Despite its name, the opera is in fact about singers and musicians, so much so that we are setting it ‘backstage,'” Gordon added. “The work’s full title ‘Le toréador, ou L’accord parfait’contains a pun: ‘l’accord parfait’ can mean either ‘the perfect agreement’ (as in the ménage-a-trois) or ‘the perfect chord.’ This pun is illustrative of the playful nature of work, which is the way we have approached it and we endeavored to keep the musical play on words, with a Hong Kong reference, in ‘The Triad, or Three in Accord.'”

This production will be set in contemporary Hong Kong.

The performance kicks off at 7 p.m. with a reception starting at 6 p.m. local time. The performance will have a duration of 80 minutes with no intermission and will be sung in French with dialogues translated into English.

The performance is sponsored by the Muses Foundation for Culture & Education and supported by the Alliance Française Hong Kong and Consulat Général de France à Hong Kong et Macao. The piano is sponsored by Tom Lee Music.

“As a major hub of art and culture, Asia Society Hong Kong Center fosters cultural exchanges by providing a platform for local artists to showcase their work while bringing in world-class performances to Hong Kong,” added S Alice Mong, President of Asia Society Hong Kong Center. “Aligned with this mission, we are proud to collaborate with French May Arts Festival in premiering Adolphe Adam’s comic opera ‘Le toreador’, reimagined in the backdrop of contemporary Hong Kong.”

 

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