When East meets West, Macao's culture glitters

"Love in Macao", performed by Chinese singers, tells a love story between the famous Portuguese poet Luis de Camoes, and a Chinese girl during his stay in Macao more than 400 years ago.

The musical theater includes both Eastern and Western-style songs, such as Cantonese folk songs, traditional Portuguese Fado music and aria of opera.

"To make such a musical theater is to create an artistic piece locally in Macao with an international perspective, a sense of the times and a historical depth," Chen said.

"I hope that it can tour around the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and even be performed in Portuguese-speaking countries," he added.

Cai Jialin, general manager of the Macao Chinese Orchestra, said that she has tried to merge Chinese music with the traditional Portuguese musical form of Fado.

In July this year, the Macao Chinese Orchestra and Portugal's famous Fado singer Helder Moutinho joined hands to perform a concert combining Chinese and Portuguese music in Macao.

In Portugal in September, the Macao Chinese orchestra staged a concert in Lisbon, capital of Portugal, with a combination of Macao and Portuguese works, seeking to deliver a Chinese musical feast with Western highlights to the Portuguese audiences.

"The fusion attempt of Chinese silk bamboo and Portuguese Fado has begun to bear fruits and has been well received by the audience," she said.

The SAR government has supported and organized various cultural events both from China and abroad in recent years, to promote cultural exchange between East and West.

The Macao International Music Festival, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the SAR government, stages in Macao very year, featuring a series of concerts.

During 2019 festival, Mozart's classic opera the Magic Flute, jointly preformed by the Komische Oper Berlin and the British theatre company "1927", were staged in Macao's Culture Center.

The Yellow River Cantata, composed by the legendary Chinese composer Xian Xinghai, were also jointly staged by the Macao Orchestra and the orchestra of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and Chorus during the festival.

In addition, a concert performed by the Vienna Philharmonic, was staged during the festival.

The Cultural Affairs Bureau also started Art Macao 2019, a grand international art and cultural event, to present a series of outstanding exhibitions on the Italian Renaissance and Chinese modern and contemporary masters.

Officially inaugurated in June, Art Macao is a half-year-long initiative which bring together hotels and resort operators, and consular missions in the Macao SAR to organize exhibitions in the Macao Museum of Art and various resort venues.