World-Premiere: TOMTOM AND THE MAGIC DOOR

Beijing—“TOMTOM and the Magic Door”, the first Comic Opera based upon the Austrian Cartoon Character TOMTOM received its World Premiere on the stage of the Great Tandi Theater in Beijing, China on July 16th.2006

The inter cultural Opera was a unique Chinese / Austrian co-production of the “Middle School 171, Beijing” and the High School “Wasagymnasium, Vienna 9”. The core ensemble consisted of students of the two High Schools.

The highly acclaimed comic opera served as the centerpiece of this year’s celebrations of 35 Years Austrian-Chinese diplomatic relations.

Mr.Gottfried Kinsky-Weinfurter , the impresario of the project and composer of it’s music has created an evocative score for both small and large orchestra. The textures by Nicole Kinsky where light, with the focus on the voices and dramatic action.

"TOMTOM is a tale of humor and whit so overwhelming and intense it transcends cultural bounds. This project represented an exciting opportunity to collaborate with fellow artists from China, to explore and draw fresh inspiration from both the story and the great creative work of Cartoonist Thomas Kostron, and to re-tell this Comic Cult of timeless significance and universal relevance," Gottfried Kinsky-Weinfurter said.

Ms.Yuan Weimin, Director of the Middle School 171 Beijing : It was particularly rewarding to be the site of the world premiere of TOMTOM and the Magic Door, based on the quintessential Austrian Cartoon Character .

“Our hope is that the sensational Comic Opera will find a place in the heart of the Chinese TOMTOM fans”, said Cartoonist Thomas Kostron, who created TOMTOM in 1990.

The Tiandi theater is located on the East Second ring road, at the north of Dong Si Shi Tiao bridge on the east side of the road. Address: No. 10 Dongzhimen South Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing (Dongcheng Qu Dongzhimen Nan dajie 10 hao).Route: Subway Dongsishitiao Station.

TOMTOM® is a trademark of TomTom Licensing Gmbh, Vienna. TomTom Licensing Gmbh operates in more than 16 countries. The network of TOMTOM Agencies includes companies like MODA (USA) Foron (Hong Kong), Alicom (Sweden) and Disney’s JCP Jetix (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)