Shenzhen Bay Opera, Qianhai, Mahler, Roast Pig and Snail Soup Noddle

Click pics to enlarge. Above and below show mostly view from the library.

Letter from Shenzhen (21-17): How I Live, Part III, Concert and More

Dec 2, 2021, Bay Opera of Shenzhen 深圳滨海艺术中心
Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra - Lin Daye 林大叶
Mahler 6th Symphony

The Venue
Although I am a die-hard fan of the SSO, I remain flabbergasted by their haphazard approach to concert management. Their last-minute dissemination of concert info is highly irritating, made more so during these covid times. It was a mere 2 days before the concert that I learned of it. It was a Thursday, as they would travel to Guangzhou the next day for the same concert.

It was a big hassle, as this concert took place in a just recently unveiled new venue far from me, the Bay Opera of Shenzhen, which is in the Baoan Qianhai 前海 CBD area (official link). The area is one of the poshest and trendiest now in SZ. As per the usual for this city, the cultural complex is in a less trafficked area, right next to the district government, and comprise a District Main Library, Youth Center 少年宫 and Concert Hall. In planning, it is highly similar to the older Futian and Longang complexes that I have chronicled, but it is clear that it is more modern, lavish, and “forward-looking”. This complex was invested in by the mega commercial group 华侨城，which is a major player in many of Shenzhen’s mega-venue developments. See my photos below. The “high-class” area is in its last phase of development, seeing a construction of Book City 书城, which will bring in much needed traffic and “culturally related” paraphernalia, as well as middle-class mass-oriented food courts and the likes. It is part of a massive waterfront development that is very impressive, and I have not explored it much. In the distant is a theme park and Ferris Wheel. More later.

The interior of the library feels like a hotel

Below is the less impressive exterior of the Opera House.

vs Hong Kong
The whole complex, which I have not even begun to explore to the full, gives me a sense that Hong Kong’s days are limited. True, there is not much traffic yet, but the infrastructure is at least HK’s equal, and more efficiently dispatched. For a long time, I have been disgusted by HK’s commercial intrusions into ostensibly cultural projects. I personally have long vehemently disfavored the West Kowloon Project. The planning and design had been pretentious, by “prestigious” western firms that have little identification with the Chinese population. Everything smacked of remnants of HK’s colonial past, and its self-aggrandizing international ambitions (an oxymoron these days), have been gravely costly, and will play little role in the future within the Greater Bay, especially now as Western anything is frowned upon by the powers that be. Mind you, I have been saying this long before the current HK scene plays out (it is likely already endgame).

The Concert
Per my previous experience with conductor Lin Daye in Mahler 5 (here), I expected a terse and efficient delivery, and sure it was the case. The first movement was certainly energico, though the more tranquil episodes were less well conveyed. The Scherzo lacked a little of the macabre (though that is not foremost in this work.) Only in the Andante did Lin bring out pathos, and it was up-heaving at times. It was here that we discerned the world was about to change. In the Finale, Lin kept up the tension, but did not fully differentiate the increasing devastation the consecutive blows had inflicted upon, so the passages with common themes that led up to the 3 hammer blows did not quite yield a cumulative effect, much unlike what Simone Young did so artlessly with the NYPO (here). However, overall, I was pleased by the performance. A note, the First Oboist seemed not the usual first desk, and had his unevenness, and didn’t quite blend in with the excellent First Clarinet, Yi Cheng 衣丞. So, the winds were a little below par, but the horns and brass played very reliably. As a whole, they played valiantly in tutti, but floundered a little in more intimate and expressive passages, where colors were sometimes not quite idiomatic (this is after all not quite yet a Mahler orchestra). I was gratified that a few in the audience yelled “Bravo”, which was a little warmer than the usual crowd in the Shenzhen Concert Hall in Futian.

In these covid times, The SSO has been hard to track, but I am glad to have caught up with them this time. No doubt, given China’s very strict covid guidelines, they have been faced with cancellations and sudden green lights. They scrambled, so did I!

Problem: The Acoustics

The hall did not sound very bad, but neither did it sound very good. From my seat, sound was somewhat constricted and overdamped, but better than the old and dry-sounding Longgang Cultural center. Tidy, but not expansive nor engrossing. Death Trap: My seat (Balcony, 4th row left) had a deadly ringing/reverberated distorted sound when the violins played forte (and louder) that sounded like distorted and overloaded upper harmonics. NOT a good job. Acoustically, it certainly fails to hold a candle to the Shenzhen Concert Hall. The hall was acoustically designed by Australian Marshall Day, which I think was just a big mistake. Judging by their consultation in HK's uneven to lousy sounding venues, they are imposters who know nothing about what music should sound like. Most of these so-called acousticians turn out garbage products that sound much inferior to traditional designs. Believe me, I know. In NYC, we had Avery Fisher, whose remedial efforts were failures. 

My Day
I started out in my home in Nanlian 南联, Longgang 龙岗 around 9:30 am. I took the Metro (Line 3) to 爱联 (3 stops) and transferred to the Express Bus E23, which travelled by highway all the way to Nanshan/Baoan. Weather recently has been absolutely lovely, and I voraciously took in the scenery along the way. Large swaths of industrial complexes are juxtaposed to some very nice scenery, reservoir and lakes around neighboring Dongguan 东莞. Previously, these were backwaters, but now one can see urbanization encroaching upon the landscape in every direction.

At Lingzhi Park 灵芝公园 I transferred back to the Metro and arrived at the Arts Complex a little short of 2 hours later. It was a 15-minute walk from the Metro to the Complex but I relished it, taking in the new scene.

The reason I had started out so early was to grab a concession ticket. The venue is very generous in offering a limited number of RMB 50 tickets, which can only be purchased in person at the Box Office (a correct policy). It being a working day, Thursday, I could have gone much later but I was not taking any chances, especially with Mahler! Concession tickets are in the balcony, which is usually favored by me for less acoustic anomaly (think HKCC).

I had researched some detours around the area, but improvised a little. With a lot of time to spare, I took a local bus which coursed through local (un-gentrified) neighborhoods before arriving at a nearby Metro Station. It went through an old part of town. On the bus, at the big wet market 上川市场 I caught sight of an enticing Crispy Roast Pig 烧肉 and I got off and patronized the restaurant (see pics below). It was very good (as was the chicken), though still not quite up to the previously chronicled charcoal-grilled standards of my HK home-ground Yuen Long’s 添记! They told me they are a Guangzhou franchise.

Basically the belly coelomic lining. Owner told me they sell three a day.

I made my way by bus to IKEA to return something. With a little time to spare, I ventured via the elevated Metro on to Longhua 龙华 Wuhe 五和 and had a bowl of snail rice noodle at the specialty’s most famous venue in Shenzhen 周氏螺蛳粉. At 4:30 pm, the place was packed. My verdict? It was good and the soup had real snails in it (see pics), and the fermented bamboo shoots were of great quality (I am a bamboo shoots aficionado).

I then made my way back. Near the Metro Station, amid the highly posh malls and glitzy restaurants, a small alley (part of the structures), lined with small restaurants, that is semi-hidden, caters to the workers (this being a new area - there are no “locals”; but contrast this with HK, which would only put generic mediocrities like Starbucks near its venues). I had a beer at a Convenience Store. There are two, 711 and the local 美宜佳. As usual, 711 is more upscale, and sells beers like 1664 and mostly canned beers and small bottles, but as I am a fan of the large 500-700 ml glass bottles seen only in China, I always opt for the local chain.

People in squeezed HK may not know, in places like SZ and Taiwan, some larger Convenience Stores have Seating Areas, where one could consume some fast foods (noodles or boiled items 关东煮 麻辣烫or drinks.) Next to me, the young fellows wolfed down some noodles and proceeded to smoke, which is highly irritating (rule says no smoking indoors but there is no enforcement at local joints.)

A tiring day, but well worth it. You shall hear more about this venue.