Close, closer: (L) Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s characters in “La La Land” face each other. (R) The lovers in “Ghost the Musical” clasp hands. (Photo : Lionsgate Movies/YouTube; Ghost the Musical/Facebook)
The capital city of China has got plenty of love to give this Valentine’s Day.
Beijing hosts events seemingly seeking to pull at people’s heartstrings and guarantee Feb. 14 to be lovelier than usual, according to China Daily.
As the country’s megacity celebrates Valentine’s Day, it invites lovers to indulge on some heart-tugging sights and sounds all set for Heart’s Day.
For starters, those desiring to sit back and enjoy live music, one place in Beijing promises to serenade lovers with classics and another one prepares to play jazz and contemporary R&B.
As German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) once said: “Music . . . can exalt us, divert us, cheer us up.”
It can make people fall in love, too.
Dongcheng District’s jazz club Blue Note Beijing in Qianmen Street presents, “An Evening of Love and Soul,” a one-night-only performance by American singer-songwriter Jody Watley.
Watley, recipient of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist (1998) and included on the list of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People of 1990, earned “numerous Top Ten hits and a reputation as ‘The Queen of Cool,’” according to prominent American music magazine Billboard.
Billboard honored Watley with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. In 2016, it placed the 58-year-old singer on the 21st spot on its list of Greatest of All Time Top Dance Club Artists.
Regular ticket sells for 520 yuan; single dinner set, 888 yuan; and double dinner set, 1,688 yuan. Showtime begins at 8 p.m.
Beijing Concert Hall in Xicheng District, on the other hand, creates its own lovely evening through more than a dozen performances of timeless music.
Part of the repertoire includes works by classical music composers, such as Beethoven’s “Fuer Elise,” Brahms’ “Hungarian Dances,” and Mozart’s “Turkish March.”
American composer-conductor-pianist Leonard Bernstein’s “Mambo” from the hit Broadway musical “West Side Story,” Korean pianist-composer Yiruma’s “Kiss the Rain” and the music accompanying the Chinese traditional dance “Tao Yao” will also be played.
Tickets: 99, 199, 365, 520 and 720 yuan. Show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Now anyone wants to hear a ghost story?
Valentine’s Day may not be a good time for that, but a stage play highlights one, albeit not in a spooky way.
Beijing Poly Theater in Dongzhimen Street in Dongcheng District presents GWB Entertainment’s “Ghost the Musical” at 7:30 p.m.
Based from Jerry Zucker’s Academy Award-winning drama-fantasy “Ghost” (1990), the musical already entertained audiences in Shanghai and Qingdao, Shandong Province.
Can a dead person still express love to someone still living?
The play’s poster says: “Believe.”
Tickets: 180, 380, 580, 880 and 980 yuan. Its last play date is this Valentine’s Day.
A movie date likewise completes the Valentine’s celebration of many couples. Good thing a critically-acclaimed, award-winning movie debuts in Beijing on Heart’s Day.
For those looking for drama, comedy and musical rolled into one, better see Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” starring Ryan Gosling (“The Notebook,” “Blue Valentine”) and Emma Stone (“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”).
In the movie, the paths of a struggling jazz musician and an aspiring actress crossed and a love bug bit them.
Will they succeed in chasing their individual dreams? Will there be a price too big to pay?
When people are done catching a play or watching a movie or enjoying a night of music, there could still be time to head to Solana Lifestyle Shopping Park in Chaoyang District and bask in the romantic beauty brought by the 9th Solana Lights Festival.
What is one great thing about this annual festival? It’s for free.
All these things and more from Beijing, with love.
