Bangkok Opera

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The Bangkok Opera ( Thai บางกอก โอ เปร่า ) was born in 2000 on the initiative of the Thai-American conductor and composer Somtow Sucharitkul (* 1952; Thai สม เถา สุจริต กุล ) - his stage name as a man of letters (he wrote several successful science fiction and horror novels ) is SP Somtow , the Americanized conversion of his full name Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul - founded as a free and independent opera company (without state or municipal subsidies ).

Foundation and mandate

Initially, it was just a matter of premiering Somtow's own stage work entitled Madana - the first full-length opera by a Thai composer. After the successful production of the piece in February 2001, the idea was born to set up a regular opera schedule with in-house productions for Bangkok . However, since they neither had their own building nor a permanent ensemble , they only came together for joint individual projects. In any case , the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra founded and directed by Somtow in 2002 (which, after several others, did not take this name until 2004) formed an important basis for the consideration of regular opera productions in the Thai capital.

In 2002 the Bangkok Opera continued its ambitious work under the artistic direction of Somtow Sucharitkul with a production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas , and then also worked on "heavier" works such as Mozart's Magic Flute or Puccini's Turandot . In January 2003, Somtow's opera Mae Naak was again on the program. - The productions are always given in a series and usually two or three times.

After these rather sporadic productions of the first year was for the season 2005/06 (between September 2005 and June 2006) announced a first complete opera season - incidentally, the first project of its kind in the region South East Asia ! The plan was to bring a total of five in-house productions to the stage, including two new productions as well as two revivals and an international co-production. The season included, among other things, the first Asian in-house production of a stage work by Richard Wagner - Das Rheingold - intended as a prelude to a complete production of the complete Ring des Nibelungen , which is to be supplemented in the following years and then shown as a complete cycle in 2010 (the Valkyrie , announced well in advance for July 24th and 26th, 2007, has since been postponed to November 30th and December 2nd, 2007 due to a serious illness Somtow).

For the opera and concert productions, which are created in cooperation with the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orpheus Choir of Bangkok (the latter under the direction of Karen TenBrink), an ensemble of international and / or Thai singers who are successful on international stages is hired. The performances mostly take place in the great hall of the Thailand Cultural Center in Bangkok. - In the meantime, the Bangkok Baroque Ensemble (under the direction of Trisdee na Patalung; the newly founded baroque orchestra performed for the first time in October 2005) and the Musica Ficta Vocal Consort (under Somtow Sucharitkul) have joined the regular opera and concert productions of Bangkok Opera ensembles.

A regular collaboration with similar companies - the Singapore Lyric Opera and the Lyric Opera Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur - was initiated with the Mozart Festival held in all three major cities for the Mozart Year 2006 . In the meantime, the three companies and their directors have joined forces in what is known as the ASEAN Opera League in order to coordinate their productions and, if necessary, to exchange them.

Cultural background

The Classical Music of the West has in Thailand (in contrast to Japan no tradition). Queen Sirikit's interest in opera was expressed in occasional guest performances on the occasion of her birthday (similar to King Bhumibol Adulyadej's active commitment to jazz - he used to play the saxophone himself and composed a number of standards - this was not particularly popular in Thailand could help). Classical music was brought to Thailand almost exclusively by expats . The orchestras and choirs that now exist - albeit almost exclusively in the capital Bangkok - are all amateur ensembles founded and directed by committed expats , and which are predominantly made up of foreigners. The Siam Philharmonic Orchestra (or the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra ), which is predominantly made up of Thais , is an exception, as is the commitment of a Thai musician to the opera. There is also only one training facility for classical music in the whole country: the College of Music at Mahidol University in Salaya in the province of Nakhon Pathom , whose teachers and students have joined forces to form the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra .

Against this background, the commitment of the Bangkok Opera can be seen, which could not exist without cooperation with Western artists and without a Western audience - consisting of foreigners living in Thailand (who also support the project financially and ideally) and (cultural) tourists . The two performances of Rheingold in February 2006 (thus still the best travel time) found, for example, before a half-empty hall instead - while the musical language of the stage works Somtows in its blend of musical elements and film music to attract the Thais (and another Asian audience) earlier and was able to speak.

Productions of the Bangkok Opera (selection)

2001

  • Somtow Sucharitkul (* 1952): Madana - the opera Somtow was commissioned to compose in 1999, premiered in February 2001. It is based on a fairy-tale piece that King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) wrote and dedicated to his wife, Queen Indrasaksachi, who was also the composer's great-aunt. The title role was by the American soprano Stacey Tappan interpreted

2002

2003

2004/05 season

2005/06 season

  • Somtow Sucharitkul: Mae Naak - as a revival from 2003 (with this piece the season opened on September 3, 2005)
  • Richard Wagner : Das Rheingold - the first Asian in-house production of a Wagnerian stage work (February 5 and 6, 2006)
  • Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly - Guest performance of the Singapore Lyric Opera in a production by the Singapore actor and director Ivan Heng and with Nancy Yuen in the title role (April 5 and 6, 2006)
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: The Magic Flute - Revival from 2004 on the occasion of the Mozart year 2006
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Così fan tutte - new production by Richard Harrell (premiere on June 25, 2006)

2006/07 season

  • Somtow Sucharitkul: Ayodhya - the third opera by the Thai composer, premiered on November 16, 18 and 19, 2006, is based on an episode of Ramayana . In the production by Hans Nieuwenhuis , which came about as a cooperation between the Bangkok Opera and the Opera Studio Nederland , the English countertenor Michael Chance , Nancy Yuen, Charles Hens and John Ames , among others, sang . The production was composed for the 60th anniversary of the king's accession to the throne, which was celebrated extensively that year. Because of Somtow's critical remarks about the military coup of September 19 and the disempowered Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra , the production was censored by the transitional government
  • Benjamin Britten: The Rape of Lucretia (February 24, 25 and 26, 2007)
  • Henry Purcell: Dido and Aeneas - 2002 Revival (April 7, 8, and 9, 2007)
  • Giacomo Puccini: Madama Butterfly - New production by Henry Akina with Nancy Yuen in the title role (August 29 and 31, 2007)

2007/08 season

  • Richard Wagner: Die Walküre - New production with Janny Zomer, Charles Hens and Barbara Smith-Jones (November 30 and December 2, 2007). The premiere of Somtow's new (fourth) opera Dan no Ura , originally planned for these dates, was postponed to 2008

  • Somtows Ayodhya (2006) with Michael Chance as Ganesha

  • Mozart's Magic Flute (2006) with Nancy Yuen (Pamina) and Will Rhodes, Dominick Gilbert and Soponwit Wangcharoensab (three boys)

  • Wagner's Rheingold (2006) in the style of Southeast Asian mythology

Richard Wagner Association Bangkok

Somtow Sucharitkul founded the Bangkok branch of the International Richard Wagner Association under the name Richard Wagner Circle Bangkok on November 25, 2003 - it is the first such association in all of Southeast Asia . Even Wolfgang Wagner traveled to Bangkok for the opening, which was celebrated with a concert with works by his grandfather , Puccini , Strauss and Somtow.

literature

  • Program book of the Bangkok Opera production of Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold , February, 2006.
  • Program book of the Bangkok Opera to produce Somtow Sucharitkuls opera Ayodhya November of 2006.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ College of Music, Mahidol University
  2. ^ Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra
  3. ↑ Review of Somtow's opera Madana
  4. ^ Opera Studio Nederland
  5. ↑ International Herald Tribune (November 17, 2006) on Ayodhya censorship
  6. ^ Bill Condie: Thailand's culture police turn an opera into a censorship drama. In: The Observer , November 26, 2006.
  7. ↑ Richard Wagner Circle Bangkok ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wagnerthai.com
  8. ^ Richard Wagner Verband International e. V. ( Memento of the original of July 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.richard-wagner-verband.de