Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance & Music is back with its 21st edition celebrating the ultimate in opera, ballet, music and more from Sept 11 to Oct 23
This year Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance & Music celebrates 21 years of bringing the best in opera, ballet, music and more to a growing Bangkok audience. Scheduled from Sept 11 to Oct 23, this carefully curated six-week long Festival is full of performances that you don't want to miss, covering everything from the classical end of the scale all they way over to the modern and contemporary.
The Festival opens with two classical operas: Turandot and Rusalka by Ekaterinburg Opera Theatre from Russia. The opera theatre, looked upon as a custodian of Russian and international musical traditions, is Russia’s oldest and has been recognized with 15 Golden Mask Awards (83 nominations). A prestigious award, the Golden Mask in Russia is the equivalent only to the Oscar and recognizes the best in all performing arts
Ekaterinburg Theatre’s first offering is Giacomo Puccini’s two-act opera Turandot (Sept 11), sung in Italian. The story set in China, has Prince Calaf falling in love with a coldhearted Princess. To marry her, a suitor must solve three riddles; wrong answers result in death. Calaf passes the test, but Turandot still refuses to marry him. He offers her a way out: if she is able to learn his name before dawn the next day, then at daybreak he will die.
This remarkable version of Turandot features leading Italian tenor Paolo Lardinzzone playing Prince Calaf; Paolo has performed in leading opera theatres including La Scala of Milan and has been recognised with several awards. An extremely taxing role, Calaf demands a lot from the tenor, not only does he sing more than anyone else but the main duet “Nessun dorma” for which this opera is known for comes much later in the story. And Paolo pulls it off with aplomb. Singing Turandot is an accomplished soprano: Zoya Tsererina from St Petersburg. No easy task, as Turandot too is a very demanding role.
Interestingly Puccini left this opera incomplete and it fell to Franco Alfano to complete it based on sketches Puccini left behind. This is an opera full of show-stopping arias and an extremely dramatic score. And Ekateringburg Theatre turns into a spectacle that it was meant to be.
The Festival opens with two classical operas: Turandot and Rusalka by Ekaterinburg Opera Theatre from Russia. The opera theatre, looked upon as a custodian of Russian and international musical traditions, is Russia’s oldest and has been recognized with 15 Golden Mask Awards (83 nominations). A prestigious award, the Golden Mask in Russia is the equivalent only to the Oscar and recognizes the best in all performing arts
Ekaterinburg Theatre’s first offering is Giacomo Puccini’s two-act opera Turandot (Sept 11), sung in Italian. The story set in China, has Prince Calaf falling in love with a coldhearted Princess. To marry her, a suitor must solve three riddles; wrong answers result in death. Calaf passes the test, but Turandot still refuses to marry him. He offers her a way out: if she is able to learn his name before dawn the next day, then at daybreak he will die.
This remarkable version of Turandot features leading Italian tenor Paolo Lardinzzone playing Prince Calaf; Paolo has performed in leading opera theatres including La Scala of Milan and has been recognised with several awards. An extremely taxing role, Calaf demands a lot from the tenor, not only does he sing more than anyone else but the main duet “Nessun dorma” for which this opera is known for comes much later in the story. And Paolo pulls it off with aplomb. Singing Turandot is an accomplished soprano: Zoya Tsererina from St Petersburg. No easy task, as Turandot too is a very demanding role.
Interestingly Puccini left this opera incomplete and it fell to Franco Alfano to complete it based on sketches Puccini left behind. This is an opera full of show-stopping arias and an extremely dramatic score. And Ekateringburg Theatre turns into a spectacle that it was meant to be.