Until September 9
“To get rich is glorious,” exhorted Deng Xiaoping. But what price riches and how does one conceive of the term? While many are inclined to go for the straightforward economic option, the exhibitors behind Rich Moments: Photographic Works of the University of Hong Kong Museum Staff ponder various other interpretations of ‘riches’ and present their findings through visual compositions and expressions. The photographic exhibition at the University of Hong Kong’s University Museum and Art Gallery will be on display through to September 9. Museum opening hours are 9:30am to 6pm Mondays to Saturdays and 1:30pm to 5:30pm on Sundays. Admission is free. For more details, go to www.hku.hk/hkumag

Thur, August 16
Singer. Songwriter. Fashion designer and trendsetter. Occasional actress, wife and mother. No doubt about it, Gwen Stefani sure has been keeping busy. Even without jetting around the world to promote her sophomore solo album, The Sweet Escape, released last December and which has already has gone platinum. On August 16, the music star will be bringing the Gwen Stefani Sweet Escape Tour to the AsiaWorld Arena at Chek Lap Kok. Kick-off time for the concert is 8pm. Tickets are $880, $680, $480 and $280 from Tom Lee Music outlets and HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

August 16-19
When thoughts turn to ballet, one of the first – if not the first – that comes to mind must be Swan Lake. Scored in 1877 by classical music master Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky for the modest fee of 800 roubles (about $246 using current currency conversion rates), this is a much-loved romantic offering that regularly delights the ears as well as eyes. This August, the Hong Kong Ballet presents the ballet as part of the continuing official celebrations of the HKSAR’s 10th anniversary. Staged at the Sha Tin Town Hall’s Auditorium, it will star Zhang Jian, principal artist of the National Ballet of China, as its guest principal dancer. Evening performances from August 16 to 19 are scheduled to commence at 7:30pm while the matinees on August 18 and 19 are set to start at 2:30pm. Tickets are from $300 to $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

August 17 and 18
Born on June 17, 1882, Igor Stravinsky would have been 125 years old in 2007. While the great Russian composer is no longer with us, his music lives on and continues to be enjoyed by millions of people the world over. As a tribute to this classical music legend’s enduring influence and popularity, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta is embarking on its biggest crossover production of the season. Stravinsky - A Soldier’s Story with renowned dance choreographer Yuri Ng and respected theatre master Fredric Mao, among others, will showcase Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, Pulcinella Suite and The Firebird Suite (1919) and comes complete with dance and words. The performances on both August 17 and 18 will begin at 8pm at the HK City Hall’s Concert Hall. Tickets are priced at $220, $150 and $100 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

August 17-25
Hip-hop’s obsession with diamonds and the illegal diamond trade in Africa. Beijing’s high-octane underground punk, thrash, metal and hardcore scene. Korea’s youthful punk rock community. The dark musical genre known as electro. These are some of the topics covered by 12 documentary films – three of which will have Asian premieres and seven screen for the first time in Hong Kong – that make up the Sonatrope Film Festival programme. An independent film festival on contemporary musical practices featuring films from territories as diverse as the USA, Canada, South Africa, Taiwan and Mainland China, its Friday, August 17 official opening will start at 9pm with the Hong Kong premiere of Filipino film Squatterpunk. That will be followed by musical performances from Spermatic Chord and ST, and DJ sets by Elle Est ChiNOISE and Kawaki. All festival events and screenings will take place at KLUUBB (14/F, Foo Tak Bldg, 367 Hennessy Road, Wanchai). Admission is $40 at the door for the opening event and $30 at the door for regular screenings. For further details, go to sonatrope.wordpress.com

Aug 17-Sept 3
Superstar singer-actor Jacky Cheung may not be entirely comfortable with titles like ‘Heavenly King of Canto-pop’ and ‘God of Songs’ but the fact is that he’s done much that many other songsters haven’t – like fill the 12,500-seater HK Coliseum for 43 nights in a row during one concert series. And although the Year of Jacky Cheung World Tour isn’t scheduled to run for as many nights at that same cavernous venue, such is the entertainer’s enduring popularity that this series has now been extended from its original five nights to run from August 17 to September 3. The scheduled show time remains at 8:15pm. Ticket prices are also still fixed at $400, $250 and $150 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Sat, August 18
The second coming is upon us. No, we’re not referring to anything religious. Rather, we’re just reminding those folk who reckon punk pop-rock sensation Avril Lavigne is – to quote the title of her latest album – The Best Damn Thing, that the popular Canadian singer and musician is returning to rock Hong Kong with her Avril Lavigne Live in Hong Kong 2007 concert. The gig is set for August 18 and will feature hit songs from all three of the albums she’s released thus far. Showtime is at 8pm at the AsiaWorld-Arena. Tickets are priced from $880 to $380 from Tom Lee Music stores and HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

August 18 and 19
Are they tomorrow’s stars? The Jean M Wong School of Ballet would like us to think so as we watch close to 1,000 young talents perform during the Stars of Tomorrow 2007 – Cinderella & Other Ballet Classics extravaganza on August 18 and 19. And maybe that doesn’t call for much of an imaginative leap as graduates of the ballet school include the likes of Yuri Ng (the HK Ballet Group’s artistic director), Helen Lai (the CCDC’s resident choreographer), kung fu movie star Cheng Pei Pei, and film and TVB actress Kate Tsui! Still, if the prospect of seeing future greats is not inducement enough, watching current ones may be – Lu Meng and Wang Yun, the Liaoning Ballet’s principals, will be dancing Don Quixote in the production. Showtime is at 7:30pm at the HK Cultural Centre’s Grand Theatre. Tickets are from $350 to $160 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

August 18-September 2
“I am but the dust in the sunbeam, a fit laughing stock for devils.” Thus wrote Pu Songling in the introductory section of his Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. A voluminous tome containing 491 stories of the supernatural that has become a Chinese literary classic, this Ching Dynasty work includes a short tale of love between a man and a mesmerizing ghost that has spawned many Chinese language films, including the six showcased in The Enchanting Ghost – Film Adaptations of Nie Xiaoqian programme that will run from August 18 to September 2 at the HK Film Archive. Tickets are $30 for each screening at the HK Film Archive’s cinema and are available from URBTIX, 2734 9009. The films are subtitled in Chinese and English and for further details (including information about individual screening dates and times), go to www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/
filmprog/english/2007ghost/
2007GHOST_index.html

August 24-26
Blue is the colour of...? To dancer cum choreographer Mui Cheuk-yin and actor-director Lee Chun-chow, the colour blue inspires imagination and carries a variety of meanings during one lifetime. And so they conceived the dance-theatre piece, Dancing Blue, which promises to shed light on feelings ranging from happiness and joy to melancholy and those we describe as ‘the blues’. Both the August 24 and 25 evening performances are scheduled to start at 8pm while the August 26 afternoon show will begin at 3pm. The HK Cultural Centre’s Studio Theatre will be the venue for all three presentations. Tickets are $200 and $120 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Looking Ahead

September 2, 9, 16
Jue Yao Dream Come True Recital
Tel: 31 288 288

September 6-9
Lu Xun Blossoms (Theatre)
Tel: 2734 9009

September 7
Jazz Up: Roy Hargrove Quintet
Tel: 2734 9009

September 7-12
Leo Ku in Concert: The Magical Moments LIVE 2007
Tel: 2734 9009

September 8
Healing Hands Charity Concert
Tel: 2734 9009

September 8 and 9
As Time Goes By (Dance)
Tel: 2734 9009

HKPO: Beethoven x 5 Pianists
Tel: 2734 9009

September 13
Nine Inch Nails Live 2007
Tel: 31 288 288

September 14-16
Shaolin in the Wind
Tel: 2734 9009

September 15
The Legendary Glenn Campbell Live in Hong Kong 2007
Tel: 31 288 288