Composer a coup for arts festival

A concert of classical works by the composer of the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be one of the highlights of the New Zealand International Arts Festival next year, to be held in Wellington in February.

Festival artistic director Carla van Zon described the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra concert of music by Tan Dun - who will conduct - as a coup.

Also announced was the festival's flagship opera production, Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir Of Love), which will be performed in collaboration with New Zealand Opera.

And Australian writer Clive James is a headline attraction for Writers and Readers Week.

The full programme for the literary event would include at least one Pulitzer Prize-winning writer plus several internationally renowned authors, she said.

Tan Dun was an artist in residence at Wellington's Victoria University in 1987, said van Zon.

"He gave us contemporary classical music, but also he is a popular, well-known figure because of his film music."

Works to be performed include The Map: Concerto for Cello, Video and Orchestra and Concerto for Water Percussion and Orchestra.

The Festival/New Zealand Opera production of L'elisir d'amore will be the first large-scale staging of the opera in this country.

It will be be directed by Daniel Slater, who has produced the work for Opera North. Graeme Jenkins, the musical director of Dallas Opera, will conduct the NZSO.

"We wanted to do a comic opera and do it well," van Zon said. "It is one of the most performed operas in the world, but is not performed here regularly. We wanted something a little unusual but still popular."

L'elisir d'amore will be performed in Auckland after its Wellington season.

Australian writer and TV personality Clive James would be a popular attraction, van Zon said. "We wanted a writer who lifted audience numbers outside the traditional."

The full festival programme will be announced in October, and van Zon confirmed every art form featured would have an artist or ensemble from Asia.

"It's a new area for us, as we did with Latin America last year. It won't overwhelm the programme, there will be just a touch in every area."

The New Zealand Festival had maintained its sponsorship income, but its expenses were much greater.

"Everything costs more. For example, since September 11 freight charges have increased enormously, our insurance has risen astronomically.

"For artists, it seems even more difficult to come to New Zealand now. They can stay in Europe and get five gigs in a week or come to New Zealand and do one."

As a result, festivals were sharing shows, so Wellington would share expenses on some performers with events in Singapore, Adelaide, Perth, Hong Kong and Korea.

- NZPA

* The New Zealand International Arts Festival runs from February 27-March 21.