The festival, which started in 1998, runs through November 5 and includes the first Ring cycle ever performed in China. The Nuremberg State Theatre brings its version of Wagner's four-opera epic to China October 23-November 1, with Philippe Auguin conducting.
Other festival programs feature performances by Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic and pianists Sa Chen, who won the third-place award in this year's Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; Igo Pogorelich; and the Labque sisters. Violinist Joshua Bell and the Peking Opera are also on the schedule.
The premiere of composer Ye Xiaogang's Song of the Earth will be performed by the China Philharmonic, conducted by Zhang Yi, with soprano Lu Qi and baritone Yang Xiaoyong.
