MORE than 30,000 residents of Shandong Province attended the Qingdao Grand Theater Art Festival which was held Oct. 23 to Nov. 20. The cheapness of tickets has contributed to the favorable reputation that the theater enjoys. The China National Symphony Orchestra opened the festival with an outstanding performance. They played a series of popular works such as the Chinese folk song “The Canzonet of Yimeng Mountain.” China Philharmonic Orchestra also gave a quality performance. The performance was led by famous conductor Yu Long. At the end, the orchestra played “Chrysanthemum Pavilion” originally by Taiwan pop star Jay Chou, which was very well received. The other top performances included “Camille” by China National Opera House and a concert by Russia Pop Orchestra. Several art troupes also performed during the festival. Tickets to see the local troupes were only 10 yuan. Meanwhile, the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra gave two concert lectures to promote classical music. The first lecture attracted more than 1,200 people. The city’s Beijing opera troupe and Pingdu Lu opera troupe also performed. More than 1,000 people attended a lecture given by He Zhanhao, composer of “Butterfly Lovers,” while many singing lovers also participated in a lecture by Gao Wei, famous choir conductor. “The theater is great. Our orchestra will come here to perform more frequently in the future,” said Yu. (Wang Yuanyuan, Li Wei)  | 