The Beijing Forum for the Performing Arts connects 40 international institutions and more than 50 local groups in China in order to consolidate an alliance to promote the performing arts in the world. Consolidating its strong presence worldwide, the Teatro Colón, through its General Director María Victoria Alcaraz, assumes the vice-presidency together with Covent Garden in London and the Stiftung Oper in Berlin.

On September 9 and 10, the online Inaugural Meeting of the Beijing Forum for the Performing Arts was held, in which the Teatro Colón was appointed by its General Director, María Victoria Alcaraz, in the vice-presidency of the same together with Georg Vierthaler, Managing Director of the Stiftung Oper in Berlin and Alex Beard, Executive Director of the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) in London. More than 200 representatives of performing arts institutions from 27 countries and regions on six continents gathered at the initiative of the National Grand Theater of China (NCPA) to discuss the future of the industry in the face of the current global challenge.

The opening ceremony, which was broadcast live on a score of online platforms, reached more than 20 million views. In her presentation, General Director María Victoria Alcaraz stated: “From the extreme south of America, it is an honor to be able to contribute together with these prestigious lyrical theaters of the world to this wonderful and challenging experience led by the great National Theater of China.”

The Beijing Forum for the Performing Arts is a non-profit, non-governmental cooperative voluntary alliance. Among the participating institutions are the Teatro Colón, Opera Australia, the National Theater of China, the Stiftung Opera in Berlin, the Royal Opera House in Muscat, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Royal Opera House in London, the Metropolitan New York Opera House, Carnegie Hall, Cairo Opera House, Israel Opera House, Rome Opera, Parma Regio Theater, Polish National Opera, New National Theater in Tokyo and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts are some of the international institutions that were present among others.

The Beijing Forum for the Performing Arts was headed by the head of the National Grand Theater of China, Wang Ning, as Chairman; In the Vice-Presidencies, María Victoria Alcaraz (General Director of the Teatro Colón and the only female member of the committee) Georg Vierthaler (General Director of Stiftung Oper in Berlin) and Alex Beard (Executive Director of the Royal Opera House) were elected.

The Director General shared: “In this atypical 2020 our conviction is that the lyrical theaters of the world must be more united than ever regardless of the distances, an example of this is this meeting to consolidate this type of institutions into true beacons of social cohesion, artistic and cultural ”.

The purpose of this International Forum is to build an open and multilateral platform to respect and encourage the development of the performing arts, facilitate the integration of technology, among other objectives, adhering to the principles of openness, inclusiveness, mutual respect and mutual benefit to build a community with a shared future for the theaters of the world.

Regarding her participation in the Council of the International Forum for the Performing Arts of Beijing, María Victoria Alcaraz expressed: “It is an honor to be part of this network together with representatives of the most important cultural institutions in the world of opera. This participation allows to make visible the importance of the female reference within the international sphere, being the only woman and Latin American who integrates the conduction of this Forum ”.

It should be noted that the Teatro Colón had participated in the Beijing Forum for the Performing Arts during 2019, in a first meeting whose main theme revolved around the strategies of lyrical theaters to attract new audiences. The Beijing Forum for the Performing Arts now has a website available, for members to display their works and to build a bridge for exchange and mutual learning.