I bought tickets to Hey Figaro! thinking it's another usual opera production and to my disappointment, it wasn't.
Firstly, I was sitting at the balcony next to the stage at circle 3. View was, as they say, RESTRICTED.
William Lim's entrance as a 'conductor' gave me a nice surprise - it was rather comical actually.
Next, the curtain rolled up and bodies were lying around on stage props. Ok, I understand it's a prelude...
But when I saw Elvis, Cowboy and a 70s' starlet strolling out on stage and Elvis doing the Saturday Night Fever dance, I was...dumbstruck.
You can probably imagine me cringing throughout the entire performance. Figaro came out dressed like Chao Ah Beng with the bling bling accessories, chao ah beng dancing in the arms of Elvis, the 70s' starlet (Rosina) blurting out an antique cantonese song in an italian opera - ok, I thought the song was funny in that context - SM starring Dr. Bartolo and Rosina, appropriately decked in a tight black leather dress. It was bordering on absurdity.
No doubt Il Barbiere di Siviglia is an opera buffa (comic opera), but the garish costumes, silly dance moves were simply distasteful.
On the other hand, I thought TPO did a great job - the orchestra has a very nice, mostly well-balanced and blended sound. Despite some mispitches from the horns and a little tempo disagreement among the orchestra members, it was a very pleasant experience. Well done.
However much I disliked the modern twist to what's going on onstage, most of the opera singers were fantastic. Especially Liang Ning (Rosina), Saran Suebsantiwongse (Fiorello), Yungbae Yang (Figaro) and Dominique Morlez. Fiorello left a very deep impression on me with his great voice and ability in following the orchestra. Liang Ning's vocals are one of the best I've ever heard so far. Great techniques...though she would be more suitable for the role of Madam Butterfly.
Hope to see another performance of Il Barbiere di Siviglia faithful to the traditions sometime in the future.
Thank God I've still got student concession...anyone feeling poor?
Not very impressed by Nina Kotova when she played with SSO...hmz. Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Orchestra 15 Sep 2007 Sat, 7:30PM
Music Director: Wang Ya Hui Violin: Zuo Jun Viola: Zhang Manchin
Strauss - Emperor Waltz, Op. 437 Mozart - Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat major for Violin & Viola, K. 364 Stravinsky - Firebird Suite (1919)
Vienna State Opera 26 Sep, Wed 7.30pm Le Nozze di Figaro
synopsis An Opera Buffa (Comic Opera) in four acts, with text by Lorenzo da Ponte and music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro is a "sequel" to The Barber of Seville. It recounts a crazy day in the palace of the Count Almaviva with risque, sparkling humour. From a maelstrom of love, infidelity, courtship, intrigue, gallantry and fickle fancies, arises a comic series of mistaken identities which are resolved with forgiveness and reconciliation.
Seiji Ozawa, holder of several honorary doctorates and international awards, and who has worked with the world's most famous orchestras leads The Vienna State Opera, widely considered as one of the most important opera companies in the world. The orchestra of the Vienna State Opera has seen a long line of famous conductors through its history, including Gustav Mahler, Hans Richter, Richard Strauss and Lorin Maazel, and comprises members from Austria's renowned Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
*I can get the $180 tickets at $90!!!* Muahahahaha!!!
A full-scale orchestral concert featuring the Russian National Orchestra with eminent conductor Alexander Vedernikov (Music Director & Chief Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre), celebrated baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky; and exquisite mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose performing a selection of beloved arias and music by some of the most renowned composers of opera.
Saturday , 20 OctoberTime : 7.30 p.m. Russian National Orchestra Alexander Vedernikov, conductor Dmitri Hvorostovsky, baritone Ruxandra Donosè, mezzo-soprano
Programme: ROSSINI : Overture to Guglielmo Tell GLUCK : ‘Che farò senza Euridice’ from Orfeo ed Euridice RACHMANINOV : Cavatina from Aleko MUSSORGSKY : Prelude to Khovanschina BORODIN : Prince Igor’s Aria from Prince Igor SAINT-SAENS : ‘Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix’ from Samson et Dalila SAINT-SAENS : Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila VERDI : Overture to I Vespri Siciliani ROSSINI : ‘Largo al factotum’ from Il Barbiere di Siviglia ROSSINI : ‘Una voce poco fa’ from Il Barbiere di Siviglia ROSSINI : Duet ‘Dunque io son’ from Il Barbiere de Siviglia VERDI : Prelude to Act I of La Traviata VERDI : Iago’s Creed : ‘Vanne, la tua meta gia vedo’ from Otello BIZET : ‘Habañera’ from Carmen DONIZETTI : Duet ‘Al alto ardor’ from La Favorita
Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall 1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore
THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL ORCHESTRA @ THE ESPLANADE CONCERT HALL
Founded by the renowned pianist, conductor and composer, Mikhail Pletnev, the Russian National Orchestra now makes its début in the inaugural Singapore Sun Festival, performing with Grammy-Award winning violinist Pinchas Zukerman; the “passionate and inspiring” Russian cellist Nina Kotova; the Juno-Award winning cellist Amanda Forsyth; and one of the most exciting pianists of his generation, Piotr Anderszewski.
Tuesday, 23 October Time : 7.30 p.m. Russian National Orchestra Mikhail Pletnev, conductor Nina Kotova, cello
Programme: TCHAIKOVSKY : Francesca da Rimini, Op 32 TCHAIKOVSKY : Variations on a Rococo Theme, Op 33 TCHAIKOVSKY : Symphony No 6 in B minor, Op 74 (Pathétique)
Thursday, 25 October Time : 7.30 p.m. Russian National Chamber Orchestra Pinchas Zukerman, director / violin Amanda Forsyth, cello
Programme VIVALDI : “Autumn” from the Four Seasons, RV 293 VIVALDI : Concerto for Violin and Cello in B flat, RV 547 BACH : Violin Concerto in E, BWV 1042 MOZART : Symphony No 36 in C, K425 (Linz)
Saturday, 27 October Time : 7.30 p.m. Russian National Orchestra Mikhail Pletnev, conductor Pinchas Zukerman, violin Amanda Forsyth, cello
Programme BEETHOVEN : Coriolan Overture, Op 62 BRAHMS : Concerto for Violin & Cello in A minor, Op 102 BEETHOVEN : Symphony No 7 in A, Op 92
Sunday, 28 October Time : 7.30 p.m. Russian National Orchestra Mikhail Pletnev, conductor Piotr Anderszewski, piano
Programme MENDELSSOHN : Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Op 21 SCHUMANN : Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 54 RACHMANINOV : Symphony No 2 in E minor, Op 27
Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall 1 Esplanade Drive, Singapore
Am currently on the 261st page of this book and it's been the cause of my many late nights. Shan't attempt to write a review on it since the story is just unravelling...and I'm not even halfway through yet! Anyone who likes history, Europe and thrillers might want to read this. It's basically a novel based on some historical facts, one historical character - Vlad Tepes III aka Dracula - and the rest are just fiction. It's simply amazing how many years the author spent on her research just to write this book. 10 years!!! She was curious about Bram Stoker's reasons for writing a novel based on the name of this historical character...most people probably still do think that Dracula is merely a fictional character. No. He was a Prince from Wallachia (now part of Romania) in the 15th century...
Actually, some people compare this book to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code...well, I can see the similarities - some historical facts interwoven with fiction and is based in Europe and America too. There's word that there're already talks on making this into a movie__too. Translations of this book currently stands at 35 languages...a mighty number for a fresh writer.
Anyway, reading about Byzantine, the Ottoman Empire, Vlad Tepes III, Romania made me do some googling and see what I found out about Vlad Tepes III - Dracula...
"Vlad's father was under considerable political pressure from the Ottoman sultan. Threatened with invasion, he gave a promise to be the vassal of the Sultan and gave up his two younger sons as hostages so that he would keep his promise...
Vlad suffered much at the hands of the Ottoman, and was locked up in an underground dungeon; however, his younger brother, Radu, caught the eye of the sultan's son (Homosexuality in that time already!).Radu was released and converted to Islam, before being allowed into the Ottoman royal court...
These years were influential in shaping Vlad's character; he was often whipped by his Ottoman captors for being stubborn and rude. He developed a well-known hatred for Radu and for Mehmed, who would later become the sultan. According to McNally and Florescu, he also distrusted his own father for trading him to the Turks and betraying the Order of the Dragon oath to fight them...
There are several variants of Vlad III the Impaler's death. Some sources say he was killed in battle against the Ottoman near Bucharest in December of 1476. Others say he was assassinated by disloyal Wallachian boyars just as he was about to sweep the Turks from the field or during a hunt. Other accounts have Vlad falling in defeat, surrounded by the bodies of his loyal Moldavian bodyguards (the troops loaned by Prince Stephen remained with Vlad after Stephen Báthory returned to his country). Still other reports claim that Vlad, at the moment of victory, was accidentally struck down by one of his own men. Vlad's body was decapitated by the Turks and his head was sent to Istanbul and preserved in honey, where the sultan had it displayed on a stake as proof that Kazıklı Bey was dead. He was reportedly buried at a monastery located near Bucharest, yet the exact place of his burial remains unknown, as excavations at Snagov monastery, usually mentioned as his final resting place, have found no human remains...
Outside of Romanian folklore the reputation of Vlad Ţepeş is considerably darker. Vlad III Ţepeş has been characterized by some as exceedingly cruel. Impalement was Ţepeş's preferred method of torture and execution. His method of torture was a horse attached to each of the victim's legs as a sharpened stake was gradually forced into the body. The end of the stake was usually oiled, and care was taken that the stake not be too sharp; else the victim might die too rapidly from shock. Normally the stake was inserted into the body through the anus and was often forced through the body until it emerged from the mouth. However, there were many instances where victims were impaled through other bodily orifices or through the abdomen or chest. Infants were sometimes impaled on the stake forced through their mother's chests. The records indicate that victims were sometimes impaled so that they hung upside down on the stake.[5]
As expected, death by impalement was slow and painful. Victims sometimes endured for hours or days. Vlad often had the stakes arranged in various geometric patterns. The most common pattern was a ring of concentric circles in the outskirts of a city that constituted his target. The height of the spear indicated the rank of the victim. The corpses were often left decaying for months..." taken from Wikipedia.
I'm eating that late in office at 7plus in the evening with my music turned on loudly as I'm waiting to print out event handouts cos some people just can't be bothered..."I can't guarantee...handouts will be out in time...most likely u'll have to use the existing ones" - which the trainer finds unacceptable?! Thanks...very helpful.)
Offices are always scary places to be in at night...especially when you're alone.
Cheese bun with blueberry filling: Nice!! (cheese and blueberry, one of my faves!)
Have finished up 3 buns...left 2 more types to go. Both are er...cheese stuff. . . . . . It's now 8.45pm...and I'm still waiting for the handouts to be printed... . . Left office at 9pm.
I feel that work that has to be passed through my boss to the bigger boss should be handled in a better way...cos the way bosses work duplicates the efforts and waste A - L - O - T of time...
And the bigger boss gives instructions to my boss, who in turns relays them to me...then I'll get the work done and pass it back to my boss who'll submit it to the bigger boss. 8 cycles of that just today!!! You could try to imagine how frustrated I was, but where bureaucracy's involved, that's how they work. Anyway, it's just so ironic...the ideas the unit perpetrates and how it actually works are not even near.
So if you ask me how working life is like so far, I'll tell you...: 1. not actually having time to msn your frens 2. always prone to irritation 3. looking forward to lunch - the best thing of the work day other than knocking off time! 4. doing double/triple/.../quintuple work when it could have been more efficient 5. learning to control your temper/mood 忍者术！！！ haha... ...and the list goes on...
I'm glad they've already found someone to come in next wk...Looking forward to having a week of hols to myself before I start my final year. But will definitely miss my colleagues when I leave...
For a long time, the rehearsals I've attended have been quite inefficient...resulting in them being less-than-enjoyable, often making me feel I'd make good my 3 hours elsewhere. Things were being repeated over and over again plus conductor sometimes making rehearsals worse by being ignorant of their compromised rehearsal methods/conducting, which were perhaps due to an unprepared ensemble...?
Whatever it is, I don't think I've ever felt this good about a rehearsal with the band since WMC 05. L. knows what he's doing. Given good planning, time management and a good sense of what makes the ensemble tick, I'm sure the process leading up to the concert will be an enjoyable one. And a great concert with B.B., let's hope! Salvation is here! Yay!!!
Argh...but I gotta do so much about my section. She really needs alot of help since she's stopped bassooning for quite a long time. Oh well, I do need to practice too! Toccata and Fugue can compare to my etudes liao...or even surpass them. *Sob & Faint*
I need to make better reeds...mine are currently too 'student-ish'...
Gotta make the soloistic and flexible (but more difficult to control) reed that laoshi churns out.
Where is the dial indicator when I need it? Mm...that won't solve all my problems though, cos the quality of the cane, hardness, flexibility of the reed counts alot too...and it's quite impossible without those measuring tools (that cost a bomb).
More practice...more practice...more practice...
Let's see how my current batch of blanks turn out! (soaking in water for the 3rd day...soak for 3 more weeks?)
"Tutti BassoonAudition: ....position is open to Australian citizens and permanent residents and New Zealand citizens only....OA is an Equal Opportunity Employer."
There's no such thing as an EQUAL opportunity employer. Just how contradictory does that sound when you advertise the position as something that's ONLY for people of certain nationalities...?
The coach ride to KL was boring...so we played UNO! Well...just a simple game of UNO is no fun right? The loser was called an A**hole and made to stuff as many 小馒头 into her mouth. Watch the video to see who's the unfortunate soul... :p
...............
with my music turned on loudly as I'm waiting to print out event handouts cos some people just can't be bothered..."I can't guarantee...handouts will be out in time...most likely u'll have to use the existing ones" - which the trainer finds unacceptable?! Thanks...very helpful.)
I was, but where bureaucracy's involved, that's how they work. Anyway, it's just so ironic...the ideas the unit perpetrates and how it actually works are not even near.
忍者术！！！ haha...
