HK Phil season opening & Cavalluna

After performing in the Hong Kong Week in Chengdu, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra returned to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in mid-September, under the baton of Manfred Honeck. This renowned Austrian conductor is currently the music director of the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra.

The opening programme of this new season was a double-bill programme consisting of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral) and Richard Strauss’ Electra Suite. The first movement of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony was played routinely. It wasn’t until the second movement that the orchestra began to bloom. The strings were richer in tone, and the woodwinds were sweet in the bird song.

In the third movement, the country dance in the stomping trio section had a lovely rustic charm. Then the thunderstorm in the next movement was dramatically performed. The sherpherds’ hymn in the final movement was quite soothing.

A good contrast was provided by Strauss’ Elektra Suite which was arranged by Honeck himself and the composer Tomas Ille. Honeck has condensed the score of Strauss’ opera “Elektra” to a powerfully concise orchestral suite. The story is about Elektra’s father Agamemnon who has been murdered by his wife Klytaemnestra. Elektra’s exiled brother Orest kills Klytaemnestra to the delight of Elektra.

The orchestra impressed with dynamic excitement and dramatic intensity. They excelled in a range of orchestral colours. Some darker passages, for instance an infernal dance, had a searing intensity.

It’s a decade already since Hong Kong last hosted an equestrian show. I remember it was in the Harbourfront event space outside the Star Ferry Terminal on Hong Kong island. This latest equestrian spectacle was from Europe and entitled “Cavalluna – Gate to the Otherworld”, which just finished its week-long run at the Kai Tak Arena in mid-September. This production, which was presented by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, featured as many as 54 horses of various breeds and colours.

The story is about a good sorceress Meerin who is taken advantage of by the evil sorcerer to find the magnolia tree so that she can regain her magical powers. The story was clearly narrated by a narrator. Act 1 is tighter in narrative than Act 2 which seems to meander a lot with gaps which are meant to give the horses a chance to dazzle. The ending seemed haphazard and lacked a climax.

The actors (horse-riders) however were perfunctory in their acting. The main leads who played Meerin, the King, and the evil sorcerer, made no attempt in any characterisation. It seemed that the story was incidental to the main aim of this show which was to display fine horsemanship.

The vocabulary was limited. A recurring dazzling step saw a rider balance away from the horse and then remount. The virtuosity was nevertheless thrillingly performed. The horses and their riders were most impressive. There were also some acrobats to enhance the show.