HKAPA

Mr Gao Guangjian is a prominent stage designer in China. As Stage Design Director at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, National Grade-A Choreography Designer, Outstanding Expert of the Ministry of Culture and elected Vice President of the China Institute of Stage Design, Mr Gao has made tremendous contributions to international stage design with his works heralded in both Chinese and international theatres. During 2001 to 2007, he was Jury Member of Senior Titles for Stage Art Professionals with the Ministry of Culture, and Chairman of the Production Committee of the China Association of Performing Arts.

Mr Gao has been involved for over 30 years in countless productions of varied styles and subjects, including operas Cangyuan, The Magic Flute, Don Pasquale, The Orphan of Zhao; dance dramas Du Fu, Fen Mo Chun Qiu; Peking opera Red Cliff; national music drama Impression of Chinese Music; and forest theatre Border Town. One of his masterpieces is the opera Turandot, helmed by renowned director Zhang Yimou, which was performed in Florence, Japan, the United States, the Forbidden City in Beijing, Paris and Munich. At the 2015 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space (PQ), Mr Gao was presented with the Gold Award for Performance Design for the Peking opera You and Me, further affirming his leading position in the profession.

Mr Gao graduated from Tianjing Arts and Crafts School (now Tianjin Arts and Crafts Institute) in 1981, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in stage design from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing in 1988. He was a stage designer at the China National Opera House since graduation, his works include a collaborative production of the opera Marco Polo, and solo productions of The Taming of the Shrew, Rigoletto, La Traviata and Du Shi Niang. Mr Gao has won numerous accolades over the years, cementing his reputation as a celebrated stage designer.

In 2007, Mr Gao was appointed Stage Design Director at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, where he has put on many outstanding productions. He also participates in the design of sets, lighting and costumes for various performing arts groups, including dance dramas, dramas, operas, concerts, large-scale outdoor performances, art installations, as well as curating the 2011 and 2015 Beijing Stage Design Invitation Exhibitions.

Mr Gao is generous in sharing his many years of stage art experience with others. Besides leading and facilitating many guided tours for the staff and students of The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts at the prestigious National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing, he has also visited the Academy on several occasions to host workshops with teachers and students, as well as giving invaluable advice to students in their final year projects, benefitting both teaching staff and students alike.