22 April 2023 Classical Therapy by The MozART group

Some things are simply a joy to be immersed in, though it seemed to be a recurrence. 

Art is one such form... but not all... some are simply magical 

The Classical Therapy is one such. The first encounter was an "accidental" one... when I first surfed aimlessly in the SISTIC website (yes, sometimes, I do such aimless surf in hope to find surprises). 

Classical music is therapeutic. However, for me, not the full suite... could be quite indigestible if I were to sit through 1.5 hours of serious classical. Yes, had one experience when I had the complimentary ticket for an orchestra performance at Victoria Theatre (more than 20 years ago). Yes! I discovered my 'true' self - the extent that I could hold this 'water'. The MozART group was a good second try when it's a 'small' 'orchestra' make up mostly by violinists and a cellist. 

The pleasant surprise was classical can be humorous and light-hearted for 90 minutes! Love it! 

It was my 2nd time to watch this performance. After 7 years, as reminded by one of the performers - they returned after 7 years, at the same place. This time, I had a seat right in the middle, 3rd row. Not too near but near enough. Love it! Deeply influence by the joy and passion these performers brought for the evening. No time for the brain to wonder off to think of other things. Yes, I was fully immersed!

Oh... one more unusual move... I usually would not attend evening shows but I stayed awake for the entire 90 minutes! 

Thank you for the wonderful performance! 

 

16 April 2023 The Soldier & His Virtuous Wife《都是当兵惹的祸》

One of those rare attempts - to catch a drama. 

It was another brave move... for the first time, catch a mandarin drama or musical (?), despite the not-so-good experience with the another show watched last year. 

What catch my attention was the title... which was pretty eye-catching... what kind of trouble could one get into trouble for going to the army? 

It seemed to be a re-run... or to be more precise, there's a re-run every few years. 

On the other hand, the storyline is not strong actually - though it could be break for someone who wanted to unwind. In terms of music and songs... it's a small local production... good try... 💪👏

26 March 2023 Drum Tao

One of those groups that I enjoy its performance... and without fail, had been attending since I "discovered" it... I think, so far, the performance venue has been the Esplanade; and always, I would attend the matinees - the time when I could stay awake for performances! Oh yes, I could still doze off even when immerse in loud noise! That was what happened in my South Korea trip. I learnt. To be able to fully appreciate the performance - let's keep to my afternoons.

I am not a drum lover or play, but learnt to appreciate the art brought by this musical instrument. What's more, with the Japanese culture infused into the performance, the piece always turned out to be beautiful. 

It's a truly successful group. No much props except the range of drums and the energy felt throughout the performance - with strengths, yet so harmonious and well-blended. Love it! 

12 March 2023 Frozen, the musical

It is a Walt Disney production - a cartoon? er... more like a animation, I supposed (ok, I lost track of the kind of descriptors for such production) - music has become one of the key features in many of the Disney shows, especially those translated from well known fairytales. 

It left an impression because of the songs when almost every kid would know... "let it go...." and it's the story of two princesses. I did not pay attention to the story line then. Though saw some of the MTVs, which were pretty impressive of the transformation of the backdrops - due to the magical powers of one of the key characters. 

At last, the musical came - to watch or not to watch? The story line is usually an important consideration. It could be too "kid-ish" (that was how it was marketed when the movie was out), I thought. However, I remember the backdrop transformation - and eventually decided to get the ticket though it was considered to be more expensive than the usual. (OR maybe not - but probably that price has gone up after cover?)

Managed to get a ticket only a couple of months ago - when most good seats were taken up. No regrets for this attempt. The backdrop and props and the special effects - worth the dollars and cents! Yes, to enjoy the show (& the effects), it is important for one to have a good seat - somewhere in the middle, not too far, yet not too near - that's always a challenging point to find a good seat 😅

 

Night Festival: Light Installation (25 July 2008)

The Light Installation was by Electric Canvas... in the open area at National Museum on 25-26 July 2008.


Click HERE to see photos

Watch the facade become the canvas for creativity...

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The last time I went to the National Museum... hm... so many years back... years before it was closed for its make-over renovation a few years ago... Think I was still in school then...

The white majestic colonial building that stands at the busy crossroads (to Orchard & Bras Bersah)... It's a quiet, a bit cold yet comfortable... not many around in this little island...

Gigantic David welcomed us at the entrance... with his muscular look, though he dressed in pink lace here... has the Singapore weather turned it pink? hahaha.... or he's shy because of the Asian culture.

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Was expecting to see some really museum stuff there... apart from the paintings, installations within each gallery... maybe have not given myself much time to roam around... but it was disappointing... left wondering... actually what's really unique here? what distinguishes this museum from others? Is this the same old museum that I know of? Or its good old day stuff have been decentralised? Just feel that the richness is missing.

Night Festival: The Dancing Sky (18 July 2008)

Took place in front of the National Museum and SMU Campus Green.

Click HERE to see photos

The opening of the Night Festival, kicked off with The Dancing Sky, was scheduled to begin at 9 pm... However, it did not start until almost 9.30 pm. However, it ended punctually, as scheduled at 11 pm. Hm... I wonder... did the organiser already anticipated the half an hour delay?

Did not notice how beautiful the dome of the National Museum until tonight... while waiting for the show to begin... I remember admiring the many domes in Europe countries, especially those in Paris... yes, some are so majestic... remember the Opera House? Those along the streets of London...

The Dancing Sky, by Studio Festi (Italy)... extract from brochure... "Graceful against the night sky, acrobats will dance in mid-air between large, floating spheres... dancer perched atop a flying piano and a huge, flying vessel... SMU Campus Green... the night transforms into a surreal and magical playground..."

Acrobatics and Dances are not uncommon... I guess what attracted most of us was the "space" that the performance took place... in the air!!! and it's in an open air area... so, it's like a carnival-like kind of a performance. Seldom we see huge objects (except aeroplanes) floating in the Singapore skyline... must admit, what drew me to the show was really that huge balloon (oh yes, they called it the floating sphere).

One of the things I like most is really being immersed in the loud classical/opera pieces. The show kicked off with a remarkable piece by Pavarotti! Just imagine, closing the eyes and hearing the solid voice blasted by the powerful loudspeakers behind you in the open air??? Ah!!! What an indulgence!

The show began...

The maiden flew towards the sailing ship in the air... Think about it... if we don't notice the cable... and not aware that a show was going on... we may think it's a ???? especially when it's just outside the old museum....



The rising balloon... flanked by 2 dancers



Here's the next one... solo... this time, not suspended...or guided by the cables in the air, but 'pulled' by someone from the ground...



Part 2 began with light display, similar to that of the musical fountain @ Sentosa



Here, a combination of water and lighting for the colourful picture creation.







The Finale...





Add (19 July): Think we were very lucky... though humid, we watched the entire show... It has been rainy on 19 July evening....

Read more about the Performance at:

• Report @ Channel NewsAsia


• Report @ Electric New Paper


• More beautiful photos @ HERE

Performance: Auto Auto - A Car Smashing Symphony

by Christian von Richthofen. Click HERE to see brief write-up. Read more HERE.

Violence and Music - can both exist hand-in-hand?
No - when both are conflicting in nature!
Yes - it gives music the punch!
This is what I learn in the past 1 h 15 min, through the performance "Auto Auto". hahaha... don't think that's something wrong with my psyche... Indeed, my eyes were wide open (without a yawn) in the critical hours... Thoroughly immerse in it! Thoroughly into it!

Yes, the 2 guys have very good very deep base voice... enjoyed the Acappella very very much... have not heard such good voice for a long time...

It started off with a familiar tune "This old man"... and went all the way to The Lion King... and the finale Tchaikovsky's swan lake... very hit gave a punch to it... the amazing part is the 'fireworks'!

Wah! It can be an art! Yes, it's creativity! Yes, it's also packaging (no doubt).

Singapore Arts Fest @ Boat Quay: Water Fools

Something new (I think) in the Singapore Arts Fest scene - performance on water! The first one I saw was while at DisneySea - where we crowded around the water area to watch the peformance (ok, minus-ing some of those displays at Las Vegas many many years back). For visual, it's not as spectacular as the one at DisneySea in Tokyo. However, simplicity counts! also, it's performed at night (in darkness) - the lighting definitely surpassed the one that I saw in the daylight at DisneySea.

Oh yes, the music... notice that, er... it seems like there's a certain genre of music that the French performances tend to us... the music reminded me of those performances by the Circque du soleil troupe (http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/). Simply Beautiful...

The visual was good... amazing! It would be better if we know the storyline so as to be able to appreciate the development, from one scene to another...

One of the beautiful props - now you see it in 1 dimension, later as a 2-dimension picture, followed by 3 dimensional object!

All finales come with spectacular fireworks!