“Is opera dead?” : opera is relevant to you! 

Fri 25 Nov 2016, 7.30pm | 9/F, Eslite Bookstore, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Speakers:
Nic Muni (internationally renowned opera director)
Wei-En Hsu (Lecturer, Department of Opera & Vocal Studies, HKAPA)

Opera to many people is such an unattainable art, yet it never fails to amaze and intoxicate its audience. - Just what is it that makes it so? In this event, More Than Musical joins a world-class panel who will share with us how best to approach and enjoy this art form - taking us right into the heart of this delicate world to explore how its bits and pieces actually surround us in our daily lives.

Nic Muni has recently been appointed Artistic Director at the AJ Fletcher Opera Institute at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. In addition, he also teaches acting and stagecraft at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and Bard Conservatory of Music Vocal Arts Program. His productions have been seen at San Francisco Opera and New York City Opera, His revival of Jenůfa at the Canadian Opera Company in 2003 received Canada's prestigious DORA award for best theater production of the year. He served as Artistic Director for the Tulsa Opera (1987-93) and Cincinnati Opera (1996-2005).

Winner of the 2010 Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition, Mr. Wei-En Hsu is now having a busy performing career throughout the States, Europe, and Asia. In recent years, Mr. Hsu has established himself as an early music specialist in Baroque opera and the art of recitative for pianists. At the same time, he has worked closely with living composers in his generation in promoting new music. He is the Founder/Music Director for Pocket Opera of New York, Executive Director for Metropolitan International Music Festival, Founding Board Member for Vital Opera, Artistic Director for More than Musical [HK], and the Artistic Director for Shenzhen Youth Opera Centre. A graduate of the Juilliard School and the Taipei National University of the Arts, Mr. Hsu now holds the repetiteur position at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. http://weienhsu.com