“More than US$40 million” has been spent on the revival of ‘The House of Dancing Water’, a Franco Dragone-created show for gaming concessionaire Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd. It had been the Macau casino sector’s longest-lasting and most-popular non-gaming attraction prior to its suspension amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tickets for the latest version go on sale to the public from March 10, and the spectacle will make a return “in May”, at its original home, the City of Dreams resort in Macau, according to a Thursday media event.
Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts, clarified to GGRAsia on the sidelines of the event, that a CNY2-billion (about US$275-million) investment in the spectacle, that was mentioned during the presentation, was what had been spent since the show’s premiere at City of Dreams in 2010.
During on-stage remarks, Mr Ho (pictured, left) said that after more than 4,000 performances in its past run, The House of Dancing Water had become one of the leading shows in the region, and “even globally”.
He noted its return was part of his company’s commitment to its non-gaming tourism offer, which would benefit Macau tourism as a whole.
A person familiar with the matter – but who asked not to be quoted by name – confirmed to GGRAsia that “considerably more than US$40 million” had been spent to bring the show back.
The person said that the focus of the show was not especially to support the resort’s gaming operation, but noted that it had brought to the property, “about 2,000 people per day” when running.
The reprise sees the involvement – as artistic director – of Guiliano Peparini (pictured right), who worked with the show for some “years” prior to its suspension in June 2020, in the first year of the pandemic. At that time, it was not clear when or if the show would return.
The new version (pictured above) will be in the original but under-revamp designated theatre for the spectacle at City of Dreams casino resort in Macau.
Mr Peparini said it was not an easy task production-wise to bring the spectacle back to Macau – it features performers from around the world, as well as from China – but described his relationship with the show as a “love affair”.
