The 27th Macao International Music Festival (MIMF) enters its fifth and final week featuring choral music, chamber music, jazz and musical theatre. On October 29, Tuesday, at 8pm, at St. Dominic's Church, Divna and Melodi (Serbia) present the concert The Soul of Orthodox Chant. Melodi was founded in 1991 in Belgrade, Serbia, by young singer Divna Ljubojević, who has since served as its conductor and soloist. The choir is composed of musicians who have dedicated many years to the preservation, practise and dissemination of a very specific tradition of sacred music native to the Byzantine cultural sphere. Divna and Melodi perform sacred, spiritual and ancient music, as well as contemporary works for choir, and closely collaborate with opera singers from Switzerland, England and Italy. Founded by four Saint Petersburg Conservatory students in 1986, the Terem-Quartet (Russia), performing on October 30 at the Macao Cultural Centre Small Auditorium, at 8pm, has since gained a worldwide reputation for its eclectic and theatrical performances. Defining their style as crossover, the Terem-Quartet's repertoire merges classical, modern and Russian folk music into captivating concerts that transcend language and cultural barriers. This ensemble of Russian folk instruments has given more than 2500 concerts in over 60 countries, with highlight events including the Edinburgh Festival and WOMAD, and has won numerous awards both at home and abroad. On October 31, Thursday, at 8pm, the Dom Pedro V Theatre welcomes jazz singer Silje Nergaard (Norway), one of Norway's most successful jazz singers and songwriters. In this concert, Nergaard presents her latest album entitled Unclouded, released in the spring of 2012, which includes nine original songs composed by the songwriter plus special contributions by American guitarist John Scofield, blues guitarist Knut Reiersrud and jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær. The album's title refers to the carefree attitude of children and their spontaneity, a quality Silje had been longing for and one that she has successfully recreated with these new songs. Accompanied by only two guitarists, the singer masterfully uses all the nuances of her voice to interpret songs that are true poetry. A moving concert that won't disappoint old fans and is bound to conquer new ones! Taking to the Macao Cultural Centre Grand Auditorium's stage and closing the 27th MIMF is Miss Saigon – The Musical, by McCoy Rigby Entertainment (USA) on November 1 ~ 4/11, at 10:30am (4/11), 3pm (2-3/11) and 8pm (1-3/11). A classic love story is brought up-to-date in one of the most stunning theatrical spectacles of all time. Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (the creators of Les Misérables), along with Richard Maltby, Jr., bring Puccini's Madame Butterfly to the modern world in a moving testament to the human spirit and a scathing indictment of the tragedies of war. In the turmoil of the Vietnam War, an American soldier and a Vietnamese girl fall in love, only to be separated during the fall of Saigon. Their struggles to find each other over the ensuing years end in a tragedy for her and a fighting chance for the child he never knew he had. Raw and uncompromising, Miss Saigon is an intensely personal story of the losses we suffer and the sacrifices we make in a world gone mad. A few tickets for Terem Quartet and Silje Nergaard's concerts are still available at Kong Seng Ticketing Network outlets; telephone bookings can be made through no. 2855 5555. Tickets for Miss Saigon are already sold out and tickets for the Divna and Melodi concert have all been distributed.
