THE FENG YA SONG SYMPHONY / Singapore Chinese Orchestra / Review

THE FENG YA SONG SYMPHONY

Singapore Chinese Orchestra

Singapore Conference Hall

Saturday (3 August 2019)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 5 August 2019 with the title "Stirring earthly and patriotic passion".

Man and his relationship with Earth was the theme of this Singapore Chinese Orchestra concert conducted by Yeh Tsung. Three major works were performed, beginning with Tang Jianping’s Hou Tu (Empress Earth). In four connected movements, the 1997 work cannily employed pre-recorded songs from ethnic minority hill tribes of China, over which orchestral textures were thickly layered.

High flutes and percussion opened the work before the entrance of children’s voices. In the call and response form of aboriginal chants, with men’s and women’s voices later introduced, a vigorous and raucous dance ensued. Mostly propulsive and sometimes bordering on violence, this was a Chinese “song of the earth”, but one which bore down to a quiet trance-like close.

German composer Enjott Schneider’s Earth and Fire (2009) was a concerto for sheng in two movements, based on two of the Five Elements that defined nature. Stretching the virtuosity of sheng exponent Wu Wei to the max, his mouth organ’s piquant timbre pierced through the massed instrumental morass with a laser-like clarity.

Rhythmic and energetic, Wu’s ponytail flapped in the air for the Earth movement. The ante was  upped in Fire, where lapping tongues of orchestral sound rose like some all-consuming force. This was a dance culminating in a fearsome solo cadenza for sheng, gloriously polyphonic and imbued with jazzy vibes. Here was a tour de force of solo playing.

Composer Zhao Jiping offers an
autograph for veteran concert-goer Mr Chua.

After the interval, Zhao Jiping’s Feng Ya Song Symphony (2019), in five linked movements,  received its Singapore premiere. Veteran composer Zhao is China’s answer to John Williams, having written scores for epic films like Farewell, My Concubine, Red Sorghum and Raise The Red Lantern. However in this symphony, he was more Mahlerian in ambition, hoping to encompass everything within its 40-minute long span.

The subject had to do with the Chinese worldview as seen through Tang dynasty poetry and literature arts. A wordless choir provided by the Vocal Associates Festival Choruses (Khor Ai Ming, Artistic Director) set the atmospheric mood for an idiom that resembled the music from those biblical films of old.

Like Mahler’s symphony Song Of The Earth, there was also two solo vocalists. Tenor Kee Loi Seng’s stentorian voice resounded strongly in Guan Ju (Crying Ospreys), a scholar’s lament about forlorn love for a virtuous maiden. Soprano Zhang Ningjia, wife of composer Zhao, was the star in Melody of the Secluded Orchid, which slowly and gently built up to a stirring climax. Her heartfelt ode was in praise of a humble flower that withstands all trials and thrives.

In the purely orchestral scherzo-like 3^rd movement, The Mythical Bird, the orchestra spun a tarantella-like perpetual motion through the course of its wild ride. A nationalistic air occupied the finale Guo Feng, with a grand apotheosis espousing patriotism to the land of one’s being. Just the perfect start to the week leading to National Day. 

UNREQUITED LOVE / Singapore Lyric Opera Gala Concert 2017 / Review

GALA CONCERT 2017:

UNREQUITED LOVE

Singapore Lyric Opera

Esplanade Concert Hall

Thursday (23 November 2017)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 27 November 2017 with the title "Brave, bold, brilliant".

This year's annual gala concert by the Singapore Lyric Opera provided a glimpse of the future of opera in Singapore. None of the usual SLO suspects featured in this evening of operatic highlights, instead the company boldly rolled out a cast of mostly debutants. Winners of the SLO-Asean Vocal Competition 2016 and SLO-Leow Siak Fah Artists Training Programme Rising Stars accounted for seven new voices among nine singers.

The repertoire choice also had a fresh ring about it, with not a single note of Puccini to be heard. Two very demanding Handel arias opened the evening, with the Competition's 1st prize winner mezzo-soprano Samantha Chong Ying Zing (from Malaysia) doing the honours in Dopo notte from Ariodante.

She had certainly earned that accolade, with a performance of clarity and depth of feeling. In Parto, ma tu ben mio from Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, she upped the ante, and was not upstaged by the SLO Orchestra's excellent clarinettist Vincent Goh whose obbligato part was just as delicious.

Arguably more spectacular was the 2^nd prize winner soprano Pham Khanh Ngoc (Vietnam) who made light work of Handel's Tornami a vagheggiar from Alcina, and displayed gravity-defying coloratura abilities in Rossini's Bel raggio lusinghier from Semiramide. That last aria was, to these ears and eyes, the loftiest of many high points in the evening.

Singaporean baritone Alvin Tan, who garnered 3^rd prize, was very impressive too, warming up Korngold's Mein sehnen mein Wahnen (Die Tote Stadt) with a rich and burnished tonal colour. This suggests he will have many roles to fulfill in the near future.

The company's artist training programme named in memory of founding chairman Leow Siak Fah which mentors locally-based singers has also borne fruit. Five singers, sopranos Zhang Jie (China) and Cherie Tse (Singapore), mezzo-sopranos Chieko Sato (Japan) and Zerlina Tan (Singapore) and tenor Leslie Tay (Singapore) were involved in ensemble roles from Bizet's Carmen (Act 3) and Mozart's Cosi fan tutte (Act 1).   

The SLO Chorus and Children's Choir livened up the proceedings with choruses from Carmen (Les voici), Cosi fan tutte (Bella vita militar) and Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel (Evening Prayer). It must be said the children did well in the last chorus, despite singing well past their bedtime. The orchestra conducted by Jason Lai (above) played an excellent supporting role throughout, and had the bubbly Overture to Mozart's The Marriage Of Figaro all to itself.  

As a sneak preview to next year's production of Verdi's Aida, two favourite arias were trotted out by two more experienced singers making cameo appearances. Tenor Kee Loi Seng portrayed the heroic Radames in Celeste Aida while soprano Jessica Chen was spine-tingling in Ritorna vincitor.

The evening closed memorably with Gloria al l'Egitto (the Triumphal March) with choir and orchestra. There was no Brindisi (Drinking Song from La Traviata) as encore this time around, but it was stirring all the same.  

DONIZETTI'S L'ELISIR D'AMORE / Singapore Lyric Opera / Review

DONIZETTI'S L'ELISIR D'AMORE

Singapore Lyric Opera

Esplanade Theatre

Friday (19 May 2017)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 22 May 2017 with the title "Sparkling comic opera charms".

It was a bold move by the Singapore Lyric Opera (SLO) to mount a production outside of the usual canon of Verdi and Puccini operas. Although Gaetano Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love) is not altogether unfamiliar (it was last produced here by New Opera Singapore in 2012), opening night of the Italian bel canto classic was unfortunately greeted by a house with many empty seats.

However, this new production directed by veteran Tom Hawkes was a light and sparkling affair true to the spirit of the comic opera. Its plot was simple. Village simpleton Nemorino (sung by Malaysian tenor Kee Loi Seng, reprising the same role in 2012) is enamoured of the confident and well-heeled Adina (Australian soprano Elena Xanthoudakis), and he thinks the elixir peddled by the smarmy quack Dulcamara (Singaporean baritone Martin Ng) will work wonders.

The contemporary setting at a seaside resort resembling Miami's South Beach was a nice touch with Justin Hill's atmospheric set, populated by the incessant vivacity of the SLO Chorus and Children's  Choir in Moe Kassim's pleasing costumes. It all made for a very satisfying background for the farce to unfold. 

A large part may be how a woman of Adina's stature comes to choose between suitors like the hangdog Nemorino and vainglorious military man Belcore (Korean baritone Song Kee Chang). But true love does these things to people, and Xanthoudakis' Adina was both a sympathatic and vulnerable portrayal.

The chemistry between her and the always-cowed Nemorino was somewhat uneasy even at the opera's happy end. Kee had his moments, not least in the hit aria Una furtiva lagrima, which rang bright and clear. He was also the centre of comedy when besieged by all the women after downing a second bottle of bordeaux. He thinks the elixir has worked, but the truth is: they all know of his unexpected coming to wealth and have begun texting with their handphones. 

Coming close to stealing the whole show was Ng's Dulcamara, whose mountebank manners and outrageous swagger (accompanied by a bevy of blonde nurses no less) made him one of the most pleasant “villains” around.

Also significant was a role of mezzo-soprano Jade Tan as the knowing Giannetta, a not so innocent high society girl, in a memorable SLO debut. Just to complete the cast, the matinee on Sunday would feature a younger main nucleus with Teo Kai Xin (as Adina), Jonathan Charles Tay (Nemorino) and Alvin Tan (Belcore).  

The SLO Orchestra conducted by Joshua Kangming Tan was generally excellent from the opening Prelude and all through the ensemble work, sensitive enough not to overwhelm the singers. Repetiteur Aloysius Foong ably provided piano accompaniment, while Yap Zi Qi's bassoon and Eilidh McRae's harp did the honours for Nemorino's hit aria. 

Despite decreased annual funding, the SLO still puts on a good show albeit once a year. Can one hope for next year's ambitious offering of Verdi's Aida to be no less of a hit?

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN / Thoughts on the Asian Cast evening on 27 October 2016

RICHARD WAGNER'S

THE FLYING DUTCHMAN

Richard Wagner Society (Singapore)

Asian Cast  performance (27 October 2016)

I had the fortune of attending the production of The Flying Dutchman by the Richard Wagner Society (Singapore) for a second time, on this occasion a performance by an all-Asian cast. How did it compare with than the Singapore premiere performed by the International cast. Were there major differences?

I am happy to report that the opera scene in Singapore has progressed to such a point that the differences were not at all about standards of performances, and the mostly local cast could stand tall alongside the internationals. Physical stature alone was the main disparity, as the internationals were mammoths or amazons both in size and voice, but the locals made up in different ways.

Only two characters were common in both casts, Jonathan Tay's Steersman and Candice de Rosario's Mary. Tay was a bright and youthful presence in the opening aria while Rosario was ever-dependable in her smallish role.  

As Daland, baritone Julian Lo appeared almost puny, but his acting and characterisation of the role was superb. One could tell his intentions by just looking into his eyes and facial expressions. His voice, although not as towering as Andreas Horl's, was still well projected. Our Dutchman, bass-baritone Martin Ng is a six-footer but still small by Oleksandr Pushniak standards. He commanded a presence with his voice, which got better as the evening progressed. The main issue is a ramrod and strait-jacketed demeanour in his red suit, as if he were directed to portray a character of perpetual “stoic stiffness”.

Soprano Nancy Yuen in her Wagnerian debut as Senta was a pleasant surprise. She did not let her petite size (she is really tiny compared with Kathleen Parker) get in her way. The smitten youth she portrayed was as real as it gets, and her Second Act Ballad was convincing, even if one knew she was close to the upper limits of her abilities. She was made to work hard, and the credit was just in her giving it all, something we know to expect whenever she takes on a role. Tenor Kee Loi Seng as Erik, Senta's hunter boyfriend, was in ways preferable to Jakub Pustina. Playing the forsaken lover, his clear voice never strained and his intonation was never an issue.

The issues that dogged the choirs remained despite the earlier experience, and offstage choral amplification. 11 men were just too small for the sailors to make a real impact. Doubling the number on stage would have helped, as well as getting more powerful voices, and both. The women were better overall, with the intonation issues on the first night were more or less ironed out, and their acting was also more natural.

The direction by Glen Goei and Chong Tze Chien of the Finger Players was unique, putting an Southeast Asian twist to the story-telling with the use wayang kulit and shadow puppet-play. These came to play in the Overture and many scenes, where shadows and silhouettes skilfully took the place of expensive and bulky sets. That alone was worth the ticket of entry.

Attending a second evening of The Flying Dutchman was a rare pleasure, and I would urge others to do the same as there are two more performances, on Friday (28 October) and Sunday (30 October). Do note that this was the Asian cast’s only evening out, as the production returns to the international cast for the final two evenings.      

WHO'S AFRAID OF CLASSICAL MUSIC? / Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra / Review

WHO’S AFRAID OF CLASSICAL MUSIC?

Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra

School of the Arts Concert Hall

Sunday (6 July 2014)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 8 July 2014 with the title "Making a case for classical music".

Every artist and arts organisation knows the value of building audiences for the future. The Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra under its Music Director Adrian Tan has gone to the grassroots with this rhetorical question. Conductor Tan, who also served as the concert’s master of ceremony, built an entire programme of orchestral favourites to state their case.

“Classical music is all around us,” he proclaimed and went on to provide a capsule history of Western music which he humorously referred to as his cheat-sheet. All four major periods of classical music were covered with ample musical examples. “When you hear a harpsichord,” as the orchestra started on Pachelbel’s Canon in D in a modern arrangement by Mohamad Rasull, “Think of the Baroque period,” he advised.

Never mind if that updated version included snatches of pop songs including the Beatles’ Let It Be, the idea of the concert was to be fun and inclusive. The Baroque era was also represented by Vivaldi’s Spring from The Four Seasons, with 13-year-old violinist Wu Shuang leading as the soloist. She was confident and played with no little flair.

The Classical period saw movements from Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Haydn’s Symphony No.94. Tan explained why the latter was called the Surprise Symphony, as the quiet Andante movement was interjected with a loud crash from the orchestra. That elicited an audible yelp from a child in the audience, exactly what the composer had intended.

Four emphatic notes marked the opening of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and heralded the Romantic era. Tan handed his baton to Assistant Conductor Darren Sim to conduct the first movement, which was a development of the insistent theme of “Fate knocking at the door”. Romantic opera and silly plots meant an airing of Nessun Dorma from Puccini’s Turandot, sung heroically by excellent Johorean tenor Kee Loi Seng (above).

The second half was all 20^th century with John Adams’s The Chairman Dances expounding the idea of minimalism. The orchestra coped very well with its intricately woven repetitions and syncopations, with the woodwinds, brass and percussion in fine form for this symphonic foxtrot. The final work was also the longest, with all three movements of Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto performed with Philippines-born pianist Albert Tiu.

Tiu showed immediately why he is considered one of the finest pianists resident in Singapore. His immaculate technique, overall control, impeccable taste and judgement prevented this all-too-familiar work from sounding slushy and over-sentimental. And when the big climaxes arrived, he delivered with all guns blazing. Conductor Tan had earlier advised that if the audience applauded long enough, they would be rewarded with an encore.

Thus Tiu obliged with a variation from Rachmaninov’s Chopin Variations. By this time, this primer of classical music had run past two and a half hours. At least the audience will have no grounds to accuse the performers of not giving their money’s worth.

DONIZETTII'S L'ELISIR D'AMORE / New Opera Singapore / Review

DONIZETTI’S L’ELISIR D’AMORE

New Opera Singapore

SIA Theatre, LaSalle College of the Arts

Friday (20 July 2012)

This review was published in The Straits Times on 23 July 2012 with the title "Startling debut for New Opera".

Opera lovers in Singapore must be pinching themselves. For the first time, there seems to be a semblance of an opera season here. Within the next six weeks, three different operas produced by Singapore’s three opera companies would have run their course. The first, Gaetano Donizetti’s bel canto opera L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love), received its local premiere under the auspices of the newest group, New Opera Singapore founded by Korean soprano and vocal pedagogue Jeong Ae Ree.

Anyone expecting something like a slicked-up high school musical from the year-old outfit will be pleasantly surprised. It was much, much better than that, extending from the professionalism displayed by all involved despite operating on a shoestring budget. Sung entirely in the original Italian, the provincial setting of sophisticated lass falling for Simpleton Sam was updated to a corporate world of mergers and acquisitions in the 20^th century.

The original story from 1832 was silly enough, and its modern equivalent directed by television veteran Goh Ming Siu was to be no less good-humoured. The unforgettable character of charlatan Dulcamara, peddler of potions, received a most outlandish outing from Korean bass Yun Seong Woo (above). He dressed and swanked for the best part like a dope-dealer cum pimp, one so slick that he was actually likeable.

The stage however belonged to soprano Teng Xiang Ting, whose coquettish turned soft-hearted Adina shone radiantly in all her arias, duets and ensemble work. Her pristine voice, powerful yet supple, was one to get totally tipsy with Bordeaux for. Equally comfortable with seamless lines and coloratura turns, it is all the more remarkable that this law graduate in her maiden prima donna role received her vocal schooling completely in Singapore.

Opposite her, Johorean tenor Kee Loi Seng was a hopeful but totally sympathetic janitor Nemorino, his trademark yellow boots had Phua Chu Kang written all over. He too, rose to the occasion and received deserved cheers for his big aria Una furtiva lagrima. Baritone Jeremy Koh and soprano Victoria Lee competently supported as failed suitor Belcore and Adina sidekick Gianetta. All singers including the small but vibrant chorus were amplified to overcome the dry and unflattering acoustics of this venue.

 

Some areas where improvements may be effected: while the absence of backdrops (other than projections) and props was understandable, the threadbare orchestra conducted by Chan Wei Shing could be further boosted for a richer accompaniment. These are however minor quibbles, for as far as musical values went, New Opera Singapore has notched the first of hopefully many further artistic triumphs.

New Opera Singapore director Jeong Ae Ree (extreme left) with patron Mrs Goh Choo Leng (2nd from left) and her entourage of opera lovers.