The International Festival Chorus is known for its high-quality performances
By Annie Wei
The International Festival Chorus (IFC) returns to its roots with a performance of W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan’sThe Pirates of Penzance at The Forbidden City Concert Hall next Saturday.
After a performance of Pirates at the Western Academy of Beijing in 2001, the idea was born to form an international group of amateur musicians. A few months later, the IFC held its inaugural concert of Mozart’sRequiem at a sold-out Forbidden City Concert Hall.
The IFC comprises singers from more than 20 countries and a group of at least 100 Beijing-based talents.
Pirates is a slight departure from the choir’s usual musical ensemble.The group usually performs German, Latin, English and other foreign pieces. But because of the grim world economic situation, the show’s producers thought eijing audiences needed something lighter, such as a romantic-comic opera.
“This music is purely for pleasure,” said IFC conductor Nick Smith, “an evening of pretty tunes and effective orchestrations.To sympathize with people who have suffered in the credit crunch, the choir will stage Pirates with minimal costume and stage design.
Some of the principal male roles will be portrayed by actors to be flown in from London, while all of the female roles will be played by Beijing-based IFC members. Accompanying the chorus are some of Beijing’s finest musicians in the Peking Sinfonietta (formerly Xinya Kongqi Chamber Orchestra) led by violinist Jin Haiyin.
