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Somtow's daring DasJati continues magnificent run
Life, Stan Gayuski, Published on 20/06/2019
» Somtow Sucharitkul's DasJati -- Ten Lives Of The Buddha was one of the most daring ideas in the history of music, to take the iconic stories of the Buddha's last 10 lives from the Pali canon and adapt them as an integrated work consisting of 10 music dramas. Two years ago, Chariot Of Heaven, the fifth work in the series to be produced, received rapturous reviews in local and international media, but the Ten Lives disappeared from view after that. It seemed possible that the maverick artistic director of Opera Siam might have bitten off more than he could chew.
Swansong or rebirth?
Life, Stan Gayuski, Published on 22/08/2017
» The final production of Opera Siam's 16th season earlier this month at the Thailand Cultural Centre was a revival of the much-praised third work in Somtow Sucharitkul's 10-part DasJati -- Ten Lives Of The Buddha, the story of a young boy named Sama whose devotion to his parents was so exemplary that it overcomes even death itself. In the opera, a statue of an ancient yakkhini -- a giantess -- comes to life to inform the citizens of Varanasi that the slain youth, once her son seven lifetimes before, is a Bodhisattva. The boy returns to life, and the ruler and people of Varanasi learn that a mother's love can extend across worlds and generations.
King Bhumibol's compositions live on
Life, Stan Gayuski, Published on 25/05/2017
» The opportunity to hear the complete compositions of King Rama IX all in one sitting, utilising all the different musical genres from jazz to symphony orchestra, marching band to chamber music, was afforded for the first (and second) time on May 13 and 14, when Opera Siam brought together over 200 artists for a pair of six-hour marathons punctuated by 90-minute dinner breaks.