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Intense excitement would greet any tour undertaken by the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, the Manchester Royal Exchange, or any British touring company of undoubted excellence, with sold-out notices appearing at the time of announcement; and standing ovations at the end of every performance. The same would apply to concerts given by our great symphony orchestras, one from London perhaps, and one from the regions. The presence of Lord Menuhin and Sir Georg Solti would be warmly appreciated, since both enjoy such high reputations in China; with Simon Rattle, a distinguished representative of the younger generation of conductors.
We are fortunate to possess in Britain a range and depth of talent across all the art forms that is the equal of any in the world; and that is of a considerably higher standard than most. A tour by a great opera company whether the Royal Opera, English National Opera, And so, Welsh National Opera or Scottish Opera, would be acclaimed; too, would those undertaken by ballet and contemporary dance companies. Listening to an inspiring lecture given by George Benjamin before a rapt audience of the Shanghai Conservatoire of Music, I was vividly reminded that we possess many of the greatest contemporary classical composers in the world; and their contribution could be made not simply during the Festival, but in the two years preceding it.
Literature, arguably our most celebrated art form, is one for which the Chinese have an unquenchable thirst; but there is a dearth of good translations of the great western writers past and present, which seriously hampers understanding; and the creative flow of excellent translations is something that the Festival could address. The two other art forms at which both countries excel, Photography (which as it happens is to be celebrated in Britain throughout
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1998 as part of the Arts Council's Arts 2000 initiative); and Folk Arts and Arts and Crafts, could be exported by us to advantage as part and parcel of the programme: And the fact that the Chinese include tumblers and gymnasts of the highest quality in their folk. arts, need be no deterrent as far as we are concerned!
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