Showing 1 - 10 of 131
A night of prodigies
Life, Published on 23/08/2025
» In 1978, composer John Williams won the Best Original Music Oscar for his work on the movie Star Wars. We've all heard the main theme countless times over the years, but listening to it performed by a live symphony orchestra is a whole new intergalactic experience. Such was the intense power of the Siam Sinfonietta as it swept over the Main Hall of the Thailand Cultural Centre that my nine-year-old nephew, Hummer, was pinned to his seat with wide-eyed wonder.
Month-long musical buffet on the menu from Opera Siam
Life, Published on 22/08/2025
» Last weekend, a small but intense audience gathered to hear the Calliope Chamber Choir perform the Thai premiere of one of the most innovative and highly-regarded works of the 20th century, Stimmung, by German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, whose inspiration for this piece came from the chanting of Buddhist monks.
Siam Sinfonietta journeys to KL
Life, Published on 24/06/2025
» Siam Sinfonietta is joining the five-week Kuala Lumpur Orchestra Festival. The international showcase is already in progress and each weekend a different orchestra is featured. So far, the Tokyo Symphony has been the most well-known participant.
The sound of Thai innovation
Life, Published on 05/06/2025
» Last weekend, I attended a "live cinema" rendition of the classic animated film Kan Kluay (known as Blue Elephant in its international incarnation) at Kantana studios. There had already been five performances the previous weekend and I was catching one of the second set of five.
King Rama VI play shines as a grand opera
Life, Published on 13/05/2025
» It has been 25 years since National Artist Somtow Sucharitkul was commissioned to compose an opera based on the much-loved play Madanabadha by King Vajiravudh, Rama VI. The play is dedicated to the king's wife Queen Indrasakdi Sachi who, in a remarkable tie-in, also happens to be maestro Somtow's great-aunt.
Madana returns to the stage in Bangkok
Life, Published on 01/05/2025
» This year, Somtow Sucharitkul will bring back Madana, the opera he composed 25 years ago, to the Main Hall of Thailand Cultural Centre, Ratchadaphisek Road, on May 7 at 7.30pm.
Madana – 25 years on
Life, Published on 30/04/2025
» Twenty-five years ago, composer and novelist Somtow Sucharitkul, living in the United States and never imagining a career in Thailand, was invited to compose an opera to help raise funds for the reconstruction of King Rama VI's Phayathai Palace.
A religious experience
Life, Published on 10/04/2025
» In 1516, Leonardo da Vinci travelled by horseback from Italy to France with the Mona Lisa carefully rolled up in his saddlebag.
An evening of magic
Life, Published on 06/03/2025
» In the opulent surroundings of Bangkok's Banyan Tree, Somtow Sucharitkul, with the Siam Sinfonietta and a host of singers, earlier this month presented an evening of popular opera to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Opera Siam.
Opera Siam celebrates silver jubilee
Life, Published on 25/02/2025
» Opera Siam will celebrate its 25th birthday with a concert in the Grand Ballroom of Banyan Tree Hotel, Sathon Road, on Saturday at 7.30pm.