Friday, August 30, 2013

"My Life with Mozart" by Alliance Francaise

Click to enlarge

My Life with Mozart is a play with live musical performances, featuring the Take 5 Piano Quintet and singers from New Opera Singapore. Here's more information:

============================

To be presented for the first time in Asia, Ma vie avec Mozart (My Life with Mozart) is a stage adaptation from the novel by famous French writer Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (2005). The play is set on a stage dialog between the Writer and the most famous classical Composer.

A mix of texts delivered in French with English subtitles and pieces of music by Mozart performed on live by eight of the most talented musicians in Singapore, this theater play offers a unique symbiosis between literature and music. Thanks to the subtitles and the magic of live music, it allows local as well international audiences to enjoy it.

SYNOPSIS
A troubled adolescent happens upon a rehearsal of “The Marriage of Figaro”. Through the voice of the Countess Almaviva, Mozart saves his life: you don’t leave a world that contains such marvels and beauty. Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt and the genius composer thus become inseparable...

Throughout his life, his correspondence with Mozart will accompany him in many moments good or bad. In his letters and in Mozart's answers, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt explains the value of little moments that make life beautiful and worth living.This long dialogue allows Schmitt to wonder, to be reassured, to rethink the world, and finally, to live a better life. It is also a reflection on the process of creation and the universality that lies in Mozart's works.

DIRECTION
The play is the adaptation of Schmitt’s most personal and self-revelatory book, full of admiration, gratitude and love. It includes, in answer to the author’s letters, delivered by the French actor Quentin BERNARD, 16 pieces and extracts from among Mozart’s finest works. These works will be performed on stage by eight of the most talented musician in Singapore.

Director: Alison Lester
Alison Lester is an American writer and communication skills coach who has always kept a finger in the theatre. She attended Indiana University with the intention of majoring in music, but finished instead with a double major in Mandarin and in French. She has been in Asia for over 20 years, performing with the Tokyo International Players in Tokyo, and with the Madhatters Comedy Company and Arts Media in Singapore. In 2010, she wrote the dialogue for the Sing'Theatre production of A Singaporean in Paris.

=========================

My Life with Mozart runs from 18 to 22 September 2013 at the Alliance Française Theatre at 1 Sarkies Road. More information available at the Events Page. 

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Trailer for SLO's "La Traviata" Plus Interview with Director Stephen Barlow

Check out this interview with Stephen Barlow, director of the Singapore Lyric Opera's upcoming La Traviata, interspersed with clips of rehearsal footage!




More information on La Traviata including tickets at the SLO's website.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

“The Tempest” - a Piano Recital by See Ning-Hui - 9 September 2013


Here's a recital from a promising young musician, See Ning-Hui is only 17 years old but has already won scholarships to study at the Royal College of Music. She will be performing at the Steinway Gallery on 9 September 2013 after returning from a year of studies. Here's more information:

===================================

The Tempest - a piano recital
See Ning-Hui, solo piano

17-year-old Singapore-born pianist See Ning-Hui returns from a year of studies at the Royal College of Music (London), where she is a Gylla Godwin Scholar under professor John Byrne. In 2012 she represented Singapore at the inaugural Southeast-Asian Steinway Regional Finals after winning the Grand Prize at the Singapore Steinway Youth Piano Competition. She has also received 2nd prize (advanced IV) at the 2013 EPTA-UK competition. The recital will encompass a wide range of repertoire spanning from Bach to contemporary music, and is supported by Singapore Steinway Gallery. For full biography and more details, visit www.ninghuisee.com.

Tickets: $18 (regular), $10 (student concession)
Reservation details: Call +65 68380527, email events@steinway-gallery.com.sg or visit Steinway Gallery Singapore:
390 Orchard Road Palais Renaissance
#01-02 Singapore 238871

Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach
Prelude and Fugue No. 9 in E major, BWV 878

Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 'The Tempest'

- intermission-

Frederic Chopin
Two Etudes from Op. 10: No. 8 'Sunshine' & No. 12 'The Revolutionary'

Franz Liszt
La Chapelle de Guillaume Tell from 'Annees de Pelerinage' Book I: Switzerland, S. 160

John Mayer
Calcutta-Nagar (The City of Calcutta)

Felix Mendelssohn
Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 14

Click to enlarge

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Audition Notice for Play - William Shakespeare’s "The Tempest"

Yellow Chair Productions is holding casting calls for their production of William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. Here's more information:


Audition Notice - William Shakespeare’s The Tempest

Yellow Chair Productions will be closing our 2013 Main Season with an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest that will run at the Drama Centre Black Box from 12th to 15th December 2013.We are looking for actors who are 18 and above to play a variety of roles from the play.

Auditionees are to prepare the following:
1. Prepared performance:
One monologue from a published or scripted text
No original text or self devised text, can be from a classical or contemporary play
Preferably, not to exceed 90 seconds

*Please note that auditionees will be undergoing a group audition which will last for up to 2 hours. In addition to the presentation of a prepared performance, auditionees will be participating in theatrical activities/exercises as a group for the assessment of overall physicality and ensemble dynamics. Auditionees can choose from 1 of 2 available slots listed below.

Further details about the audition are as follow:

Date: Sunday, 8th September 2013
Time: 130pm-330pm or 4pm-6pm
Venue: Tampines Central CC

To register for the audition, please email: info@yellowchairproductions.com in the following format:

Name:
Age:
Contact No:
Preferred Time of Audition: 130pm-330pm/4pm-6pm

Additional Notes:

Participants need not have theatre knowledge or be super physically fit.
It is highly recommended that monologue has been memorized
Be in attire that will permit movement (sweatpants, T-shirts, PE attire, etc.)
Please bring along Headshot/Photo & resume (if any)
Audition is open for all, and be open and prepared to do crazy stuff.

Important Note:

As Yellow Chair Productions is not a professional outfit and an organisation that is completely volunteer-driven, we will not be able to provide any remuneration for involvement in any of our programmes.

We look forward to seeing you at the auditions!


Regards,
The Yellow Chair Team

Orchestra of Music Makers's 5th Anniversary Concert

Click to enlarge
The Orchestra of Music Makers celebrates their fifth anniversary by performing what looks like an exciting programme of Beethoven and Wagner, with pianist Melvyn Tan in his signature Beethoven and Germany-based soprano Felicitas Fuchs performing the Liebestod and Brunnhilde's Immolation Scene. The Mad Scene congratulates this wonderful orchestra on achieving this milestone. More information available on the Events Page.

Here is a clip of Fuchs performing Die Zauberflöte with the Qatar Philharmonic:

Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra's "Great Britten"

Click to enlarge
The Braddell Heights Symphony Orchestra will be performing an all British programme on 1 September at the SOTA Concert Hall, featuring Benjamin Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, with tenor Melvin Tan and french horn player Alan Kartik as the soloists.TV and radio personality Andrew Lim will also be narrating the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Check out the Events Page for more information.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Victoria Chorale's In Song 2013

the award-winning Victoria Chorale stages their annual recital this on 25 August, this time at the YST Concert Hall. Here's more information: 

Click to enlarge

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Leontyne Price Gets Vocal

In her autobiography, Renee Fleming mentioned that as a budding young starlet on the brink of stardom, she was 'summoned' to the apartment of Ms. Leontyne Price through a mutual friend, who proceeded to offer some much needed advice to the neophyte. 'It was more a sermon than lecture, so passionate was she'. 

While we can't all be visiting Ms. Price at home, this lengthy interview (45 minutes after edits) is exactly what Renee was talking about: very vocal, very passionate, and very, very inspiring. She goes on at length about how she loves the voice that God has given her, how she loves performing, the honour of being given a Met debut as well as singing at the opening of the new house, and how her favourite thing to do these days is listening to her own recordings. 


Friday, August 2, 2013

Stephen Cleobury on Time Out Singapore


The world-famous Choir of King's College, Cambridge makes a stop here to perform Vivaldi's Gloria with Anna Koor and an ensemble of local orchestral musicians. We get to know them better by speaking to music director Stephen Cleobury.

http://www.timeoutsingapore.com/music/opera-and-vocal/the-choir-of-kings-college-cambridge

Find out more about the concert at our Events Page.