All posts filed under: Concert Review

A Review of Speed Dating Tonight!

Published by

The genre boundaries between musicals and opera have been blurring for a long while now and Speed Dating Tonight! is another example of how drama in modern opera continues to be carried forward primarily by music & singing, but now incorporates many of the dialogue, dance and acting elements traditionally found in musicals. The music and libretto of Michael CHING while ‘contemporary’, was largely tonal, accessible and on occasion, paid tuneful, tongue-in-cheek tribute and references to classical composers like Mozart or Bizet that opera aficionados would appreciate. Musical interest was aptly sustained throughout the ca. 1 hour 15 min show by the interspersing of various solo arias, duets, trios and tutti, some of which were sung a cappella and showcasing the excellent musicianship of the entire cast. The full-house, lively audience were thoroughly entertained throughout the show. The relatable individual characters were fleshed out via the arias and duets – finding love (successfully, or not), getting ghosted, or nailing the use of modern day texting abbreviations (LOL!) etc. Kudos to excellent staging, lighting, dancing (choreographed …

A Tapestry of Sacred Music Arvo Pärt’s Passio: St John Passion in the Dark

Published by

It was an amazing experience to be invited by the Esplanade to perform in “A Tapestry of Sacred Music“. This annual music festival is presented by the Esplanade and sees some of the most colourful performances of spiritual-religious music by equally colourful performers. This year, I had the privilege to be part of this huge festival as chorus-master, preparing the Schola Cantorum Singapore for Arvo Pärt’s Passio. The concert was fully subscribed and the Esplanade Concert Hall was packed with an appreciative audience. The choir and I had a really good time studying in depth, Pärt’s music and delving deep into this poetic music and text that speaks of the spirit behind one man’s ultimate sacrifice. A big thank you to the Esplanade for inviting and hosting us so wonderfully, and a big shoutout and thank you to The Straits Times (ST Life 17 April 2019) and 938NOW DJ Eugene Loh’s live radio show for the wonderful coverage on this event.

Purgatory: A Review

Published by

What: Purgatory by Gordon Crosse When: October 27-November 5 Where: Theatre Practice Black Box Theatre (54 Waterloo Street) Tickets: purgatory.peatix.com Director: Eleanor Tan Music Director: Aloysius Foong Portrait Artist: Namiko Chan Set Design: Grace Lin Set Consultant: Chia Eucien Boy: Peter Ong Old man: Reuben Lai Female Spirits: Ava Madon, Melissa Gan, Venytha Yoshiantini, Ethel Yap, Patricia Ginting, and Inch Chua If you are looking for classy Halloween entertainment and you haven’t bought tickets, you really need to buy them RIGHT NOW. “Purgatory” is a production that further proves Singapore’s opera scene has come of age and local creatives are capable of creating an engaging, sophisticated concert experience without “dumbing it down”. “Purgatory is the tale of an Old Man and his Boy, who have arrived at the abandoned ruins of a grand house for unknown reasons (…) The story is at first glance, a fairly inscrutable one. The Old Man’s grief and resentment are palpable from the start, yet his purpose for bringing the Boy to the site of his neglected childhood and tormented youth is uncertain until its horrific culmination suddenly …

Music Review of 新高采烈 Asian Cities Choral Exchange

Published by

Just heard about this and got my hands on a fab music review of the December 2015 concert I guest conducted in Taiwan! Thank you Xiao Jing Wen for the wonderful review! 音樂的心靈盛宴/蕭靜雯 2015的平安夜過得很幸福，因為在高雄市最美麗的大東文化藝術中心聆聽【新高彩烈 — 天生好友城市交流 (一): 新加坡】音樂會。指揮鄭維誠Albert Tay、唐天鳴與天生歌手合唱團將音樂做了最動人的詮釋，讓演藝廳裡迴盪著充滿情感的音符。誠如匈牙利作曲家&民族音樂學家&音樂教育家Zoltán Kodály柯大宜的信念：「音樂是每個人都能享有的財富，要將最好的音樂帶給最多的人。」，身為聽眾的我確確實實感受到最美麗的聲音，最好聽的音樂。 這場音樂會中曲目安排是多元文化的精彩，有靈性的「歌唱讚美主」等聖歌、俏皮的閩南歌謠「乒乒乓乓娶新娘」、抒懷療癒的「朋友」、驚喜互動的「相思」等等作品，透過情感豐沛的演唱，直接感受到不同文化的流動，多了一份對人的理解，更能感同身受。 指揮 Albert 和天生歌手合唱團的默契非常好，在他的引領中，團員將每首曲子詮釋得絲絲入扣，而且能夠享受在舞台上分享音樂的喜悅，也可以觀察到他是以最好的教學法來教授音樂和唱歌，將渴望得到更好的音樂的熱忱傳達到團員的心靈。很特別的是，雖然他不認識觀眾，卻能瞬間以幽默的口語表達、創意的教學技巧，成功帶動所有人參與了「相思」的演出，彷彿大珠小珠落玉盤的雨聲和天生歌手合唱團交織成最美麗的篇章。 這是音樂的心靈盛宴，領略多元文化的精采、感受靈性與寧靜的能量、溫暖療癒生命的缺和、平靜與狂喜的交疊、輕鬆自適享受參與的快感。在天籟樂音中興高彩烈，帶著溫暖、祝福與力量的禮物離開音樂廳。 作者：蕭靜雯（教育電台高雄分台主持人） 1.第46屆、第47屆廣播金鐘獎藝術文化節目獎入圍 2.第14屆兩岸新聞報導獎廣播專題報導獎佳作 3.全國社大人文課程特優：古典文學與心靈成長 4.全國親子教育教案設計佳作   A Musical Feast for the Spirit by Xiao Jing Wen (Translated from the above original text) 2015 Christmas Eve was a happy affair, because of the Asian Cities Choral Exchange (Singapore) at Kaohsiung’s finest Dadong Cultural Centre. Conductor Albert Tay, Tang Tien Ming and the Natus Cantorum created some of the most moving of musical interpretations, making the concert hall resound with their emotive notes. True to the Hungarian composer, musicologist and music educator Zoltán Kodály’s philosophy “music should belong to everyone and one should bring the best music to the greatest number of people.”, sitting amidst the audience I did indeed felt the most beautiful of voices and the most soothing of music.   This concert was full of exciting multi-cultural elements – ranging from various sacred music like “Laudate Dominum”, to …