BUTTERFLY'S DREAM / The Opera Pot / Review

 

BUTTERFLY’S DREAM 

The Opera Pot 

Black Box @ 

Stamford Arts Centre 

Sunday (28 April 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 30 April 2024 with the title "The Opera Pot takes flight with adaptation of Madama Butterfly."

Given the sad state of government funding for grand opera in Singapore, big opulent spectacles have been hard to come by. Even the national flagship Singapore Lyric Opera has had to scale down its major productions. 

One sole consolation for opera lovers is the increased activity of little opera companies, the latest newcomer being The Opera Pot, part of The Creative Sync arts company. Its maiden voyage was Butterfly’s Dream, a chamber-sized retelling of Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly through stage and cinema. 

Directed by Mah Su-Yin, the opera’s original two-and-a-half hours involving ten soloists, chorus and orchestra was readapted for just four singers accompanied by piano. Its modern setting is 1950s Nagasaki, during the post-war American occupation of Japan, when a teenaged geisha is married off to an American naval officer. Short-lived passion gives way to long-term fateful consequences. 

Running for 90 minutes without intermission, the clever selection of key moments of musical theatre pared away the luxuries but retained critical factors that made for good story-telling. Its compactness enhanced rather than detracted from the drama. This production was, however, a creative coup in other respects. 

Chief of these was the singing in Italian, with soprano Wendy Woon helming the titular character Cio-Cio San, whose pitiful plight of love lost and duty abandoned was totally identifiable. Her passionate hit aria Un bel di left one wondering if her unshaken faith was a case of misplaced innocence or pure delusion, or both. 

Opposite her was Malaysian tenor Alan Lau as the feckless Lieutenant Pinkerton, whose smarminess was immediately apparent by trodding on tatami without first taking off his shoes. Their love duet together, Viene La Sera / Vogliatemi Bene, was the stuff for raising goosebumps. Unlike most Pinkertons, his final regret was palpable, evoking sympathy rather than contempt. 

Photo: Ken Ang

The other singers were Australian baritone Greg McCreanor as a confident but cautious Consul Sharpless and Japanese mezzo-soprano Chieko Trevatt as kimono-wearing maid-servant Suzuki, the latter being the best of four actors on stage. Although she had a few lines to sing, her non-verbal cues more than encompassed the unfolding tragedy. 

The absence of an orchestra was rendered moot by Vincent Chen Wei Jie’s musical direction on piano, who was a towering presence in support. The simple yet effective set comprised a central low table, ikebana set and clock backed by six screens. The narrative from the viewpoint of Suzuki was aided by mostly black-and-white film projections which were visually stunning. 

The death of Butterfly.

Excellent lighting design by Debbie Tan Zi-Yang aided the noir setting pursued in the direction, which was unobtrusive but easily taken for granted. Butterfly’s final act of seppuku (no stabbing but a violent flick of a fan) was represented by the stage symbolically bathed in blood red hues. 

Judging by this success of a debut, one cannot wait for what The Opera Pot cooks up next.

JOURNEYING TOGETHER: SHAO EN & SCO / Singapore Chinese Orchestra / Review

 

JOURNEYING TOGETHER: 

SHAO EN & SCO 

Singapore Chinese Orchestra 

Singapore Conference Hall 

Saturday (28 April 2024) 

This review was published in The Straits Times on 29 April 2024 with the title "SCO reunites with conductor Shao En for a lively evening of classics".

If one needed a reminder of what Chinese orchestral music is all about, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra provided a timely showcase led by veteran Chinese conductor Shao En. Well-respected in both Western classical and Chinese music spheres, his well-curated programme focussed on time-honoured classics and a modern look at age-old traditions. 

The first three works could be classified as light classics, optimistic and cheerful short pieces which extolled virtues of the toiling farming masses. Xu Jingqing’s Flowers Blooming Everywhere was a lively dance, which got faster as it progressed. 

Arranged by Peng Xiuwen were two other similarly joyous works, Shi Wanchun’s very brief Days of Emancipation and Liu Tianhua’s Towards a Bright Future. One might baulk at the claptrap of such socialist-realist titles, but there was no denying the sumptuous orchestrations, vivacity and vigour of the playing that really meant it. 

The best moments in the concert’s first half were two nocturnes with descriptive titles which went to the heart and spirit of Chinese music. The ancient tune Moonlit Night on a Spring River, as orchestrated by Qin Pengzhang, Luo Zhongrong and Liu Bin, was quiet and atmospheric, distinguished by refined textures and exquisite solos from Yu Jia (pipa) and Yin Zhiyang (dizi). 

Just as beautiful was Autumn Moon over the Han Palace, another ancient tune, in Jian Fengzhi and Huang Xiaofei’s orchestration. Despite an imposing orchestral opening, the show was stolen by SCO concertmaster Li Baoshun, swapping his gaohu for the rich mellowness of a diyin erhu. His highly sonorous solo was lightly accompanied, further enhancing the artistry involved. 

The concert’s second half was built upon visions of antique musical traditions as viewed through lenses of modern musical techniques. Nobody knows exactly what court music during the Tang dynasty and earlier sounded like, thus Night Banquet at the Shu Palace, a 1980s project as reimagined by three composers Zhu Zhou, Yu Shi and Gao Weijie, attempted to address the issue. 

The bamboo flute of Zeng Zhi featured prominently in a sequence of ceremonials and dances, which got progressively pacier with each section before closing quietly. Given the pre-existence of the Silk Road, one might even sense Indian, Central Asian and Middle Eastern influences in the mix. 

Arguably the more memorable work was Guo Wenjing’s Dianxi Folk Tunes, three highly rhythmic movements inspired by Yunnan folk and tribal culture. Throbbing percussion and strident winds dominated A Va Mountain, occupied by peoples who practised animistic religions. Tuned percussion dictated the pace and beat of Jino Dance, the variations of which resembled at times the improvisational freedom of jazz. 

Dissonance and primitivism ruled in the final Sacrifices.Fire.Spirit, a movement of suspense and violence, common to many such scores from the 20th century. It could only have had one grand-forebear: Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. 

Photo: Singapore Chinese Orchestra

The very well-received concert closed as it began, a cheery encore of Huang Yijun’s Hua Hao Yue Yuan (Blooming Flowers, Full Moon).

PAUL YE Piano Recital / JEFFERSON DARMAWAN Piano Recital / Review

 

PAUL YE Piano Recital 

Victoria Concert Hall 

Monday (22 April 2024)

JEFFERSON DARMAWAN 

Piano Recital 

Esplanade Recital Studio 

Thursday (25 April 2024)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 27 April 2024 with the title "Two pianists, but one pulls off flawless show".

This season has been raining piano recitals, and the tide will not be stemmed for a long summer ahead. Monday evening saw the Singapore debut of Chinese pianist Paul Ye, presented by Kayserburg Pianos. Performing on a Kayserburg concert grand specially flown in from Guangzhou, he opened with Ludwig van Beethoven’s very popular Sonata No.23 in F minor (Op.57), better known as the Appassionata Sonata. 

Ye displayed the requisite bravura to make this indestructible warhorse tick, not least in its furious finale of perpetual motion. He was equally at home in three Chinese pieces, including the famous Ode to the Yellow River (from the infamous Yellow River Concerto), Liu Zhi’s My Motherland (with spectacular guzheng-like sweeps) and best of all, Wang Jianzhong’s A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix with its clever mimicry of birdsong. 

Photo: Kayserburg Piano School

He however had mixed fortunes with a second half of Frederic Chopin hits. Two Waltzes, in B flat major (Op.18) and E flat major (Op.34 No.1), were slickly delivered with delicious rubato applied. The Barcarolle (Op.60) was mostly over-pedalled, smudging many a lyrical line. The familiar Scherzo No.2 (Op.31) went swimmingly but the less-often heard Scherzo No.3 (Op.39) suffered an uncharacteristic lapse, sending him into a nightmarish repetitious loop that seemed interminable. 

Redemption was at hand in Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise (Op.22), which had a singing quality and rhythmically exciting romp to close. His three encores homed in on popular culture, with music by Hans Zimmer (Interstellar), Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean) and Yiruma’s River Flows In You, bringing him the cheers from a large and noisy audience. 

When box-office figures do not dictate, an artist is given more license to practise creative programming. Such was the case of Jakarta-born Jefferson Darmawan, professionally qualified pianist who is also a scientist / research officer at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). 

His recital on Thursday saw the Singapore premiere of Russian pianist-composer Nikolai Medtner’s Sonata in E minor (Op.25 No.2), also known as the “Night Wind” after a poem by Fyodor Tyutchev. 

This is the longest and most taxing of Medtner’s 14 sonatas, a single movement playing for some uninterrupted 35 minutes. That Darmawan committed all this to memory was admirable enough, but what beggared belief was the extremely demanding execution that came close to being faultless. He had fully grasped the concept of sonata form, working on its two recurring motifs in a manner that was both convincingly logical and inexorable. 

Its technical challenges, too many to name, were negotiated without fuss, and there was never a resort to longeurs. Time just passed swiftly when everything goes so singingly. The obligatory Chopin came in the form of three Etudes from Op.25, which were more than comfortably surmounted. 

The all-French first half of Darmawan’s programme opened with Gabriel Faure’s Nocturne No.6, another rarity where an elusive lyricism emerged from seemingly chromatic pages. More familiar were the five movements from Maurice Ravel’s Miroirs, impressionist masterpiece where he summoned the imagination to vividly conjure evocations of night moths, mournful birds, ocean swells, Spanish dances and myriad bell sounds. 

His encores were just as varied, a canny nod to his homeland in Leopold Godowsky’s clangourous Gamelan from Java Suite, and the graceful central Minuet movement from Ravel’s Sonatine. If pressed to choose between which pianist this listener would return to for another recital, the choice is clear: Darmawan wins with both hands down.

IN HARMONY 41: COLOURS / SAF Central Band / Review

 

IN HARMONY 41: COLOURS 

SAF Central Band 

Esplanade Concert Hall 

Sunday (21 April 2024) 

It’s been ages since I last attended a wind band concert. The Philharmonic Winds used to be my fix until it lost National Arts Council major grant funding sometime pre-pandemic. I was thus happy to be reacquainted with wind band music through the Singapore Armed Forces Central Band in its annual concert In Harmony. It's very well-attended 41st edition at Esplanade Concert Hall was led by director of music ME5 Ignatius Wang and renowned British conductor Douglas Bostock. 

I had been reminded that the SAF Central Band is Singapore third largest full-time professional orchestra, after the Singapore Symphony and Singapore Chinese Orchestras. Its history actually predates the other two, having origins as a British army ensemble dating from 1958, one year before Singapore achieved internal self-government. Its first band masters were British, but local conductors who led the outfit since were trained in the United Kingdom, graduates of the Royal Military Music colleges. All its members are professional musicians, and this concert was further augmented by some familiar names from the Singapore Symphony and local classical music scene. 

First timers to wind band concerts will be pleasantly surprised to learn that the repertoire – a parallel universe running alongside the classical scene – does not consist of just military marches or ceremonial music, but encompasses music worthy of any serious concert stage. This evening’s offerings were proof of that. 

The concert’s first half was led by the young and charismatic Ignatius Wang, looking spiffy in ceremonial military uniform with full regalia, mirroring the orchestra’s equally smart turnout. Zubir Said’s National Anthem Majulah Singapura opened the evening, followed by Kenneth Hesketh’s Masque (2000), which began life as a Scherzo for orchestra. Right away, the orchestra unfurled its wide range of colours with pin-point articulation and warmth of sonority. The dynamism and cinematic quality of this short overture was reminiscent of the best of John Williams. 

Frank Ticheli’s Lux Perpetua (2020) was next, a heart-felt elegy in memory of two close friends tragically lost in an auto accident. Fragmentary strains of tuned percussion in high registers are heard over a background of brass chorales straining to emerge. Emanating warmth at each turn, the music would gain in pace and volume, transforming into the blazing eternal light of its title, before a gentle and quiet close. The band’s radiant reading was a touching tribute. 

Spanish composer Ferrer Ferran’s Red Dragon (2008) opened with a crash not unlike the Danse Infernale from Stravinsky’s Firebird, following which would be the concert’s most dissonant music. Snarling brass with woodwind murmurings of disquiet colour this portrait of feral and brutish invincibility, as personified in the dragon. One will be forgiven for thinking that the driving rhythmic ostinatos bringing the work to a savage close would also be totally at home in The Rite of Spring. With this, the virtuosity of the players is undisputed. 

The second half was conducted by Douglas Bostock, a well-known figure in both international symphonic orchestral and wind band circles. David Bedford’s Sun Paints Rainbows on the Vast Waves (1984) fully exploited all possible timbres of the instruments by displaying a dazzling array of textures and figurations. Its idiom is somewhat minimalist, referring to the minute changes in spectral wavelengths as the music evolved, but also impressionist, bringing to mind the sound worlds of Debussy and Ravel. 

The orchestra was augmented with cellos, harp and piano in Philip Sparke’s A Colour Symphony (2014) which closed the concert proper. Here, colours represented in its five movements are equated with varied moods and temperaments. White opened with a horn solo, and the ensemble soon established a milieu of harmony and happiness with its reassuring musings. Yellow was scherzo-like and playful, its modal (verging on pentatonic) melody resembling a Vaughan Williams folksong arrangement. 

Blue was scored for woodwinds, harp and piano, a slow movement with a gospel vibe, not unlike chorales sung in small-town churches of heartland America. Red for brass and percussion was volatile and choleric, an incessant snare-drum beat providing the driving impetus. Finally, Green symbolising all that is good with Mother Earth gave this very accessible and enjoyable symphony a vibrant and vivacious conclusion. 

Bostock and the band had two encores up their collective sleeves. Derek Bourgeois’s joyful little Serenade, with pianist and harpist “goofing off” (all in good-hearted fun) until the final cadence, was followed by a delicious piece of Graingeriana in Philip Sparke's Garboldisham Jig from Four Norfolk Dances. 

This marvelously presented and very enjoyable concert, with tickets free of charge for all comers, was not just the perfect advertisement for wind band music, but for music itself.

All band leaders have a sense of fun!

BRAHMS REQUIEM AND SCHUMANN CELLO CONCERTO / Singapore Symphony Orchestra / Review

 

BRAHMS REQUIEM 

AND SCHUMANN CELLO CONCERTO 

Singapore Symphony Orchestra 

Esplanade Concert Hall 

Saturday (20 April 2024) 

This review was published in The Straits Times on 22 April 2024 with the title "Concert celebrates triumph of having lived".

There is good reason to couple Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) in a same concert. The older German composer and his wife Clara were mentors to the young upstart, with the latter two maintaining a passionate platonic friendship till the end of their days. The spiritual connection between their music is real, shown in this Singapore Symphony concert led by Hans Graf. 

Schumann’s Cello Concerto opened the evening, with locally-based Chinese-Australian cellist Qin Li-Wei as soloist. Composed during his troubled late years, the concerto’s mellow and lyrical quality found a perfect advocate in Qin. Absent was outright Romantic-era virtuosity, in its place limitless song, sympathetically partnered by pared-down forces. 

The brief central slow movement saw the added voice of SSO principal Ng Pei-Sian’s cello, accompanied by gentle pizzicatos, which was sublime. The sprightly finale with accompanied cadenza provided the composer’s last flourish before his terminal descent into insanity. The warm reception accorded Qin was rewarded with two encores, both in G major, an ultra-smooth rarity in David Popper’s Etude (Op.73 No.22) and the ever-popular Prelude from J.S.Bach’s Suite No.1. 

There is a special relationship between the Singapore Symphony Chorus (SSC) and Brahms’ masterpiece, A German Requiem. It was with this work that the chorus made its debut in 1980 under Choo Hoey’s baton, albeit sung in English. 

In this more authenticity-driven age, Ein Deutsches Requiem would only be performed in its original German. SSC augmented by juniors from Singapore Symphony Youth Choir, numbering over 100 singers, was accompanied by SSO boosted by thirty string players from the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. All in all, a love-in for the Singapore Symphony family. 

Eschewing fire and brimstone of the Latin requiem mass, this was one of comfort and solace, with texts drawn from the Lutheran bible. In the opening chorus Selig sind, die da Leid tragen (Blessed Are They That Bear Suffering), the chorus’ hushed entry, every consonant clearly enunciated, provided a measure of the excellence to come. 

It has been quite a journey for
longest-serving SSC member alto
Ng Beng Choo (front row, second from right),
who has been singing since 1980!

The indefatigable chorus sang in all seven movements, with no break in between. They more than coped in big choral fugues, notably in the second movement Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras (All Flesh Is As Grass) and the penultimate Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt (For Here We Have No Continuing City), known for being particularly taxing. 

In the popular Wie lieblich sind dein Wohnungen (How Blessed Is Thy Dwelling Place), one could be mistaken for already being in paradise. Kudos go to choral directors Eudenice Palaruan and Wong Lai Foon for their sterling work. 

Both vocal soloists were also excellent. Danish baritone Bo Skovhus’s throaty delivery of Herr, lehre doch mich (Lord, Make Me To Know Mine End) and Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis (Behold, I Show You A Mystery) had a special resonance, the latter’s words also shared in Handel’s Messiah. Swedish soprano Susanna Andersson sang in one movement, Ich habt nun Traurigkeit (And Ye Now Therefore Have Sorrow), which was beauty itself. 

By the final chorus Selig sind die Toten (Blessed Are The Dead), the consolation was one need not face mortality with trepidation, but instead celebrate the triumph of having lived.

PLUCKED STRINGS / DOUBLE FEATURE / Ding Yi Music Company / Chen Le & Friends / Review

 

PLUCKED STRINGS 

Ding Yi Music Company 

Esplanade Recital Studio 

Wednesday (17 April 2024)

DOUBLE FEATURE 

Chen Le & Friends 

National Library Board Building 

Friday (19 April 2024) 

This review was published in The Straits Times on 22 April 2024 with the title "Ding Yi, Chen Le & friends explore the intricacies of Chinese tunes".

There is no better way of getting close to Chinese musical instruments than attending concerts of Ding Yi Music Company’s chamber music series. These often involve interesting and unusual repertoire, stimulating and empowering the listener after each show. 

Seven contrasting works in this 90-minute concert offered a deep dive into the piquant world of plucked strings. The guzheng is haunting when heard on its own, as Yvonne Tay proved in Liu Le’s serenely beautiful Sound of Emerald. Even in the plain heterophony of The Deep Night (arranged by Liu Dehai), five unison instruments – two pipas, one each of zhongruan, guzheng and yangqin – provided a satisfying simplicity. 

Sonic textures varied when more instruments entered the fray. The world premiere of Cao Wen Gong’s Sweetness in Every Step upped the ante, with accompaniment by cello and percussion. In Liu Xing’s Dance, Chua Yew Kok’s pipa and Wong Wai Kit’s zhongruan gave rhythmic impetus with unusual results. This animated romp had a beat closer to Western jazz than Chinese music. 

Two concertante works were showcases of solo virtuosity, with Tan Jie Qing’s yangqin first putting a shine on Wong Fei Yun’s Ten-Mile Red Dowry. This dramatic work opened slowly, then gradually ramped to a fast dance before receding into quietude. 

Zhang Ying, pipa principal of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, was the memorable guest in Luk Wai Chun’s Moments between Ledges and Frets. Belying its mundane title, this was an imperious display of pipa as both string and percussion instrument. Accompanied by 14 players and conductor Dedric Wong, its ten minutes of contemporary idioms defied expectations by providing both a visual spectacle and entertaining listen. 

The work that truly summed up the evening was Li Bo Chan’s Sorrowfully and Quietly. Five plucked instruments (including two ruans) placed centrestage coursed through ruminative and playful moments before a surprise. It was Bekhzod Oblayorov’s cello - a bowed string instrument - that had the big tune at its conclusion. 

Unlike Ding Yi’s clear intentions, the world premiere of Double Feature (2024) by Nanjing-born and locally-based composer Chen Le was left nebulous, perhaps deliberately. Was this a concert work or a piece of theatre? Was Chinese or Western music being played? 

Held at National Library’s ground floor foyer, its six movements opened with Hu Tao Jiazi playing violin exercises. She was later joined by soprano Zhang Jie singing in Mandarin and English, which included a spot for audience participation. 

This was merely a prelude to the entrance of Beijing opera artist Ren Wei Chen, playing Chang Er (moon goddess of Chinese mythology), clearly the production’s star, accompanied by the composer on piano. Her elaborate make-up and period outfit bedecked with jewelled finery were matched by an intense Chinese operatic voice, gazing eyes and sleek swirls with sashes circumscribing wide arcs of graceful motion. 

Both vocalists, understandably, did not sing together, instead alternating their acts of divergent idioms. The absence of projected texts and transliterations was a handicap, so one had to be content with enjoying the stunning visuals. That was until Chen systemically removed accessories and head-piece, disrobing nearly completely to reveal under the facial paint - a man! 

With climax over and done with, what remained was more violin music, now accompanied by piano four hands (Chen with Zhao Ling Yan), in a quasi-New Age, quasi-minimalist idiom. LaSalle College of the Arts’ head of contemporary music Timothy O’Dwyer made a cameo improvising on saxophone, having no relation with the earlier 45 minutes. 

Despite interesting ideas, Double Feature is a work in progress, falling short of the sum of its parts.