Showing 1 - 4 of 4
Wagner, Thai-style
Life, Michael Proudfoot, Published on 25/08/2016
» It was bold of Somtow Sucharitkul to take Opera Siam to Bayreuth in Germany, the spiritual home of Wagnerians, to perform the first opera of a cycle of operas that challenges Richard Wagner's monumental Ring cycle, performed every year in Bayreuth, as the world's longest opera cycle. Sucharitkul's The Silent Prince is the first of the 10 operas of his Dasjati cycle telling the "Ten Lives Of The Buddha", familiar stories in Buddhist culture. Somtow has already composed five of the operas, and hopes to have all 10 finished by 2020, ready for a complete cycle in a sort of Bangkok Bayreuth Festival.
Thai musicians charm Bavarian audiences
Life, Michael Proudfoot, Published on 16/08/2016
» Opera Siam and the Siam Sinfonietta are in Bayreuth, Germany, home each year to the famous Wagner Festival, for the European premiere of Somtow Sucharitkul's opera The Silent Prince, which forms part of the Bayreuth Annual Young Artists Festival. Before the opera opens members of the ensemble have performed concerts in Bayreuth and some small Bavarian towns nearby.
From Star Wars to The Burmese March
Life, Michael Proudfoot, Published on 07/01/2016
» Where is the closest place in Thailand to Vienna? The answer may have been last Monday, back in 2015, at the packed Thailand Cultural Centre, where the Siam Sinfonietta presented their fourth annual New Year's Concert to an enthusiastic audience.
Mozart with a Thai twist
Life, Michael Proudfoot, Published on 06/01/2015
» Christmas Day at the Thailand Cultural Centre saw the opening night of Opera Siam's wonderful new production of Mozart's The Magic Flute, conducted by the young Thai impresario Trisdee Na Patalung and directed by Somtow Sucharitkul (there were two further performances, one sponsored by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority).