Major music festival set to take place in Shanghai

Music in the Summer Air (MISA), the first large-scale cultural event to take place in Shanghai following the latest COVID-19 outbreak in the city, will kick off on July 20.

The festival will consist of 43 concerts and activities and run till July 30.

The opening concert, conducted by maestro Yu Long, music director of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, will be the first live concert at the Shanghai Symphony Hall in three months.

Featuring mezzo-soprano Zhu Huiling, the concert will present Solveig's Song from Peer Gynt Suites by Grieg, Wesendonck Lieder by Wagner, and Mahler's Symphony No. 1 Titan. The concert also marks the closure of the 2021-2022 music season of the SSO.

Aside from Yu Long and Zhu Huiling, Tang Muhai, renowned opera singer He Hui, and violinist Li Weigang will be among the leading artists in the 19 live concerts that will take place at three locations: Jaguar Shanghai Symphony Hall, the Urban Music Lawn, and TRI, a new music hall in the historical Blackstone Apartment compound.

Acclaimed international orchestras Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, the British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Hermitage Orchestra from Russia will also be featured in online streaming concerts during MISA this year.