Saturday, June 12, 2004
Century and a Half allows the space and freedom to deal with an historic war musically
Published June 2, 2004 (From Asia Business Week online)
Opium War in song
Checkpoint Theatre's Opiume revisits the Opium Wars in a small-scale opera featuring music by Mark Chan, reports Sangeetha Madhavan
THOUGH its subject matter may be a historical drug war spawned by 'epic' issues like the politics of trade and a clash of cultures, the current problems that chamber opera Opiume's creators Mark Chan and Casey Lim say they are facing are of a more down-to-earth kind - limited time and resources.
Hectic rehearsals: singers Paul Hughes, Judith Dodsworth and Kun Xie, and composer Mark Chan squeeze in some practice
The first-ever chamber opera commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival (SAF) is a 100-minute long look at the machinations that brought about the 19th century Opium Wars between the Chinese and British, and their fallout on western colonialism and trade. Opiume is jointly produced and funded by local theatre company Checkpoint Theatre, SAF and the New Vision Festival, Hong Kong.
The final bill for the opera is $300,000, which is extremely modest for a production this size, Lim said. 'That it has come together on a limited budget is only because of the passion of all the people involved - and there are quite a few.'
Live music is provided by the string players of the T'ang Quartet, a trio of musicians from Hong Kong playing traditional Chinese instruments and Margie Tong (also from Hong Kong) on percussion.
Budget constraints apart, composer and musical director Chan also had time constraints - just over five months to write the libretto (lyrics) and the music before digital artiste and director Lim got involved.
During rehearsals in the run-up to the show opening tomorrow night, things were hectic: Lim put the Western opera singers - tenor Kun Xie, soprano Judith Dodsworth and baritone Paul Hughes from Australia - through their paces; the final touches were being put on the staging and the commodity most in demand was, in fact, nicotine.
Opiume (the extra 'e' is for effect, said Chan) addresses the dark episode of the wars and tries to infuse it with some modern-day perspective. Chan remarked that at the heart of the tale is the fact that there will always be more than one version of history. Emotive lines such as 'Every hero needs a victim to stand upon and make that song' seek to impress that upon audiences.
It started off on the drawing board as a theatre production, but Chan - who has scored musicals, theatre productions and a silent film - felt that the grand themes would suit an opera perfectly. Opiume is his first 'chamber' opera - meaning an opera on a smaller scale.
Chan has stayed true to his direction as an artiste who melds East and West and turned out a very melodic score with tunes that stick.
'I was aiming for a traditional Italian or even a German feel to the opera, rather than a modern, intellectual and dissonant piece,' said Chan about the six-parter with names like Intoxication, The Tango of Trade, Economics and Addiction.
The musicians have already given it their thumbs-up. 'You don't need to be a music or theatre person to understand this piece,' said Leslie Tan, cellist of the T'ang Quartet. 'We sometimes forget to play, because we're listening to it - it's quite amazing!'
Actress and Checkpoint's joint artistic director Claire Wong is the narrator. Main pen Huzir Sulaiman, however, is taking a backseat to joint artistic director Lim, who will provide images to supplement the emotionally charged action and music. The last arts festival commission the three collaborated on was Occupation two years ago.
'Opiume speaks to me on a very individual level, too, about who I am and where I am coming from,' said Lim.
'To me, the wars were about a misunderstanding of cultures. But I'm not deliberately focusing on the clashes, I'm celebrating the differences.'
Opiume makes its world premiere tomorrow night and runs until June 5, at Victoria Theatre. Tickets $22-$52 from Sistic, 6348 5555.
¶ 6/12/2004 08:07:00 AM
Published June 2, 2004 (From Asia Business Week online)
Opium War in song
Checkpoint Theatre's Opiume revisits the Opium Wars in a small-scale opera featuring music by Mark Chan, reports Sangeetha Madhavan
THOUGH its subject matter may be a historical drug war spawned by 'epic' issues like the politics of trade and a clash of cultures, the current problems that chamber opera Opiume's creators Mark Chan and Casey Lim say they are facing are of a more down-to-earth kind - limited time and resources.
Hectic rehearsals: singers Paul Hughes, Judith Dodsworth and Kun Xie, and composer Mark Chan squeeze in some practice
The first-ever chamber opera commissioned by the Singapore Arts Festival (SAF) is a 100-minute long look at the machinations that brought about the 19th century Opium Wars between the Chinese and British, and their fallout on western colonialism and trade. Opiume is jointly produced and funded by local theatre company Checkpoint Theatre, SAF and the New Vision Festival, Hong Kong.
The final bill for the opera is $300,000, which is extremely modest for a production this size, Lim said. 'That it has come together on a limited budget is only because of the passion of all the people involved - and there are quite a few.'
Live music is provided by the string players of the T'ang Quartet, a trio of musicians from Hong Kong playing traditional Chinese instruments and Margie Tong (also from Hong Kong) on percussion.
Budget constraints apart, composer and musical director Chan also had time constraints - just over five months to write the libretto (lyrics) and the music before digital artiste and director Lim got involved.
During rehearsals in the run-up to the show opening tomorrow night, things were hectic: Lim put the Western opera singers - tenor Kun Xie, soprano Judith Dodsworth and baritone Paul Hughes from Australia - through their paces; the final touches were being put on the staging and the commodity most in demand was, in fact, nicotine.
Opiume (the extra 'e' is for effect, said Chan) addresses the dark episode of the wars and tries to infuse it with some modern-day perspective. Chan remarked that at the heart of the tale is the fact that there will always be more than one version of history. Emotive lines such as 'Every hero needs a victim to stand upon and make that song' seek to impress that upon audiences.
It started off on the drawing board as a theatre production, but Chan - who has scored musicals, theatre productions and a silent film - felt that the grand themes would suit an opera perfectly. Opiume is his first 'chamber' opera - meaning an opera on a smaller scale.
Chan has stayed true to his direction as an artiste who melds East and West and turned out a very melodic score with tunes that stick.
'I was aiming for a traditional Italian or even a German feel to the opera, rather than a modern, intellectual and dissonant piece,' said Chan about the six-parter with names like Intoxication, The Tango of Trade, Economics and Addiction.
The musicians have already given it their thumbs-up. 'You don't need to be a music or theatre person to understand this piece,' said Leslie Tan, cellist of the T'ang Quartet. 'We sometimes forget to play, because we're listening to it - it's quite amazing!'
Actress and Checkpoint's joint artistic director Claire Wong is the narrator. Main pen Huzir Sulaiman, however, is taking a backseat to joint artistic director Lim, who will provide images to supplement the emotionally charged action and music. The last arts festival commission the three collaborated on was Occupation two years ago.
'Opiume speaks to me on a very individual level, too, about who I am and where I am coming from,' said Lim.
'To me, the wars were about a misunderstanding of cultures. But I'm not deliberately focusing on the clashes, I'm celebrating the differences.'
Opiume makes its world premiere tomorrow night and runs until June 5, at Victoria Theatre. Tickets $22-$52 from Sistic, 6348 5555.
¶ 6/12/2004 08:07:00 AM
