AN international festival that celebrates the good life has picked Singapore as its Asian home. The Sun Festival, currently enjoyed in two locations on two different continents, makes its debut here in October, and Sun-seekers can begin to snap up tickets for the event from today. The brainchild of Barrett Wissman, chairman of IMG artists, the Singapore Sun Festival (SSF) marks part three of his vision to host a version of the Festival in every continent, and create a core following round the world.

Mr Wissman shares with BT how it all began seven years ago. When he and his wife - concert cellist Nina Kotova - wandered into the charming, but unused and cobwebbed Teatro Signorelli in Cortona, Italy, ''it ignited our imaginations''. Their passion for music as well as Mr Wissman's line of work - managing world famous artists and creating events - allowed them to make real the ideas whizzing round in their heads. And so the first Sun Festival in Cortona was born.

Mr Wissman describes it as a ''festival of the senses, that combines music, the visual and literary arts, cuisine, wine, film and wellness - all into the same equation''. The idea is to have a ''festival that's not one-dimensional; that's designed for the artists, so they can pursue the projects they had always wanted to, but couldn't during the normal season; and that is a unique blend of experiences for the festival-goer''.

AS to why Singapore after Cortona and Napa, Mr Wissman replies: 'Singapore appealed to me as a wonderful place to hold the event in Asia, because of so many cultures being represented here. Singapore is a true melting pot, a microcosm of Asia.'

SSF, budgeted at a mid-six digit figure, is designed as an experiential, sensory festival that incorporates the seven arts and lifestyle components mentioned by Mr Wissman - as well as flavours of the three venues of Italy, California and Singapore.

A typical SSF event would be, for example, Sensual Botanics and the Food of Love, held at the National Museum of Singapore, with a herbal theme.

This event brings together a guided tour of the Museum's treasured Farquhar Collection, one of the earliest, most comprehensive records of the region's fauna and flora; an expert aromatherapy talk by Jacqueline Le Sueur; brunch at Novus Restaurant that incorporates the region's flora, herbs and spices by celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, voted by Harper's as the '5th most alluring man in the world'; and wines from Cape Lavender.

IMG Artists' Mindy Coppin, who runs the company's regional headquarters based in Singapore, points out that an integrated lifestyle and arts festival is the logical way for Singapore to go.

Such a festival brings together key elements that Singaporeans identify with - such as wellness, fine foods and high quality music - to create an experience that, in its way, is uniquely Singaporean.

Integrated activities
Though most festivals in Singapore currently keep the various categories quite separate - whether the performing arts or fine dining or world cinema - we already see signs of integrated leisure activities.

For example, Novus Restaurant - an F&B partner of SSF - has already added some after-9pm live acoustic sessions to complement their regular food and wine offerings. Thus, as Ying Ong of Novus Restaurant says, SSF 'ties in strongly to what we are all about'.

SSF, obviously, doesn't just feature musicians represented by IMG, but also chefs, visual artists, writers and poets.

Mr Wissman says: 'The management business does give us a privileged role in executing the Festival because we are insiders and can easily access other artists and information on availability and costs.' Artists are picked with an eye to how they fit the integrated festival concept, and how they explore both old traditions and new energy.

SSF's musical line-up is top-notch, featuring acclaimed Russian opera singer Dmitri Hvorostovsky; hot, young Latin jazz band Tiempo Libre; the Soweto Gospel Choir; pianist Lang Lang and violinist Pinchas Zukerman.

One of the highlights promises to be the opening concert and opera gala that features Hvorostovsky, exciting mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose and the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Alexander Vedernikov.

Hvorostovsky, who first got involved with the Sun Festival in 2005, shares with BT elements of the musical programme that has been put together for Singapore, a country he is excited to visit.

'One of the Russian arias I am singing - Yeltsky's aria - is from one of the greatest operas ever written: Pique Dame or The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky,' he says enthusiastically. 'It is great to have the backing of the Russian orchestra, they will really know how to bring its unique sound across. The other Russian aria I will sing is less well known and not often performed - Mussorgsky's Prince Igor - but I always love to introduce the audience to something new each time.'

Other participants at SSF include sculptor Ana Corbero at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute; photographer Henry Fair who presents a body of work titled Industrial Scars, damaged-earth images that talk of the wellness of our planet; and Frances Mayes, author of the bestseller Under The Tuscan Sun, who is also a joint founder of the first Tuscan Sun Festival.

As for the wellness component, Spa Botanica at The Sentosa Resort & Spa offers SSF ticket holders a number of holistic wellness programmes and retreat packages. Spa Botanica's senior spa manager Caroline Lim says their participation in SSF ties in well with the garden destination spa's philosophy of 'embracing a tropical botanical setting, and using nourishing ingredients that harness the richness of nature'.

One of Australia's most influential wine critics Jeremy Oliver, who will be launching the Australian Wine Annual 2008 at SSF, says it is appropriate that wine is an integral component of 'an event of the depth and imagination' of SSF.

He says: 'I have been able to watch closely how Singapore has not only matured as a wine market, but has played a powerful role in the development of wine culture and communication through other Asian centres.'

SSF's mantra is that it offers something for everyone from the exclusive, intimately scaled evening with Zukerman at the Raffles ($380 per person) to free movie screenings at the Botanic Gardens. There are also film screenings at the Screening Room of movies that reflect the cultures of Tuscany, Napa and Singapore - Under the Tuscan Sun, Sideways and Singapore Dreaming respectively.

Ms Coppin says SSF's target is to attract some 50,000 Sun-seekers from Singapore and the region, as well as cultural tourists who have been following the Festival in other parts of the world.

Matteo Ricatti, an investment banker from Milan who has attended the Festival in Napa and Cortona, is hoping to attend its newest incarnation in Singapore. He explains that the Festivals were unique opportunities 'to enjoy some of today's most important artists performing solo'.

He adds: 'Also, I had a chance to know them in a relaxed environment, enjoying the best cuisine and attending interesting arts exhibitions. During the first gala dinner in Cortona, after a memorable concert by Lang Lang, I was sitting next to Sarah Chang, one of the most important violinist worldwide. Every time I come back, it is like meeting old friends.'

In Singapore, the Festival makes use of many synergies. For example, the Indochine Group will participate in it as an extension of their own annual lifestyle festival, also held in October. For SSF, the Group's outlets will host a celebrity chilli crab cook-off, have jazz sessions featuring Tiempo Libre and act as the official catering partners for the Sun Tent where literary events and artist networking sessions are held.

International flavour
However, would such festivals cannibalise each other? Indochine's Michael Ma says: 'I am glad there are more festivals - and the Sun Festival in particular brings an international flavour - because it adds to the critical mass of making Singapore a vibrant lifestyle hub. Already, we have a core group of businessmen from Europe, Australia and the US who time their business meetings in Singapore to attend our festival; the presence of SSF gives them even more reasons to do so.'

Novus' Ms Ong agrees: 'With so many festivals happening all year round from the Singapore Food Festival to Womad, Singaporeans and visitors will always have something to see and do on our sunny island. It creates a lot of energy and educates our citizens about the various cultures and talents around the world.'
Indeed, Mr Wissman has lofty aspirations for the Sun Festivals as events that 'expose each continent to other cultures', adding: 'I believe that better cultural understanding leads to better diplomacy, politics and global relationships.'

Supporting his vision are the attendance figures for the Sun Festival that has steadily grown in Cortona to about 10,000 people this year, while in Napa, 50 per cent more tickets have been sold this year.

The organisers hope the trend will continue in Singapore, where the Festival is enjoyed as a celebration of the arts and a feast for the senses, Asian style.

Tickets for concerts at Esplanade Concert Hall go on sale today, from Sistic (www.sistic.com.sg, 6348-5555); early bird discount for concerts/concert packages from today till July 31; for details of programmes, bookings, updates, visit www.singaporesunfestival.com, or e-mail info@singaporesunfestival.com