The Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra played a leading role in Hong Kong at the opening of the 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival, held every year in March. Maestro Donato Renzetti, together with mezzo soprano Cecilia Molinari and baritone Simone Alberghini, paid tribute to Gioachino Rossini in two evening performances that were both sold out and confirmed Hong Kong’s interest in Italian cultural excellence (the same festival had hosted the Teatro La Scala ballet in 2024). ‘The presence of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra in Hong Kong confirms the absolute relevance of cultural relation for the Italy-China strategic partnership, which is undergoing a phase of revival throughout the country,’ said Ambassador Massimo Ambrosetti at the event. In the same days, the Head of the Cultural Department of the Municipality of Bologna, assisted by the Consulate General of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Hong Kong and Macao, presented the city’s cultural offer to the local interlocutors at the Hong Kong Design Centre, the West Kowloon Cultural District, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Leisure and Culture Services Department, with the aim of exploring synergies and projects to be jointly implemented in the fields of museum exchanges, figurative arts, opera and cinema, including the restoration of films and participation in the main festivals organised in the two cities.
