Wednesday, July 30, 2014

New Opera Singapore's 'Die Fledermaus' in Review


New Opera Singapore's Die Fledermaus is easily the funniest live opera production I've ever seen. A tightly rehearsed ensemble where individual contributions shine and still add to the sum of the whole.

As with previous productions, this production is transplanted to modern day Singapore, this time among the media moguls and starlets of the Singapore and Korean music industries. The cast of Singaporean singers (sopranos and tenors) and Korean low voices (two baritones and a mezzo) make this adaptation perfect typecasting. The music is sung in English, with lyrics adapted specifically for this production. The adapted dialogue is a bundle of fun, with situation appropriate jokes aplenty and syncs perfectly with the music.


Monday, July 28, 2014

An Exclusive Interview with Mina Kaye


Local musical theatre star Mina Kaye is embarking on a Masters programme at the Boston Conservatory's Musical Theatre Department. She is raising money for this trip by starring in her own show entitled The Mina Kaye Show on 2 August. Hawk and I have a discussion with her about what to expect and the journey that has brought her to this stage.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Interviews with New Opera Singapore's 'Die Fledermaus' Cast


So I got to chat to Teng Xiang-Ting, Rebecca Li and David Charles Tay, the two Prima Donne and Primo Uomo of New Opera Singapore's production of Die Fledermaus. It is opening this coming Friday as the first opera production at the newly reopened Victoria Theatre. The plot has been updated to the jet-setting world of Singapore and Korean entertainment industry. Here's what we talked about:


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

MBS's 'The Sound of Music' in Review


The last time I saw the famous movie has to be more than 10 years ago, so while the songs are still familiar I had forgotten most of the storyline by now. I do remember it being quite a cute movie despite some bits about Nazis at the end.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

'Conductorcise'

Here's a brand new exercise trend that's sort of taking the senior crowd by storm: as seen on a banner at Teck Ghee Community Centre in Ang Mo Kio, 'conductorcise' is erm... well your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps it'll also be helpful as a budget course for aspiring maestros too.



Saturday, July 12, 2014

Exclusive Interviews with 'The Sound of Music' Director and Cast


Hawk and I interview the director and cast of MBS's The Sound of Music, now running till 10 August 2014. This production started off in the UK West End as part of a reality TV competition, How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?, in which the winner gets to play the lead in the premiere run. Andrew Lloyd Webber is a co-producer and one of the judges of the show. The production that is running here is recreated in South Africa with a large cast of natives, save for six of the younger Von Trapp children who are famously selection through auditions locally. First off, here's our session with Director Anton Luitingh, where we discuss the background of the musical and this current production:



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

'Hotpants' - a Musical by Dick Lee 14 to 30 August 2014



Dick Lee's 1997 musical Hotpants makes a comeback this August, starring Denise Tan, Dwayne Tan, Kimberly Chan, Shankara, Nikki Muller, Tabitha Nauser, Eleanor Tan, Cheryl Tan, Windson Liong and Joakim Gomez. Here's more information:

Sunday, July 6, 2014

New Opera Singapore's 'Die Fledermaus' - 25 and 27 July 2014

New Opera Singapore presents a new production of Die Fledermaus, to be staged at Victoria Theatre, set in Singapore and performed in English. It features comedian Patricia Mok in her operatic debut in the spoken part of Frosch. Here's more information:

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

An Interview with Martin Ng


Congratulations to our very own Martin Ng for scoring a part in Taiwan's National Symphony production of Salome! He is now preparing for the role of the first soldier. As you may recall, Martin sang the roles of First Nazareth and Cappadocian in our very own SLO production in 2011, so it looks like he's moving through the ranks in this opera.

Its going to be a world tour of sorts, as his next engagement is taking place in Singapore just a few weeks after his Taiwanese gig, a full recital of virtuoso arias by Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini entitled Martin Ng's Bel Canto Spectacular. It is the debut production of this very e-zine, something we hope will enrich the arts here, so we hope for your support on 8 August 2014 at the Esplanade Recital Studio. Beatrice Lin will accompany and soprano Tan Sin-Sim is our special guest singer. More information including the full programme can be found here:

www.ticketmash.sg/martinng

So coming back to our interview, Martin and I had a great chat, going back to what got him interested in opera singing back then, what he is singing these days and of course, what we can look forward to come 8 August 2014. Parts of this interview have been used in an upcoming Time Out Singapore feature (available at bookshops and convenience stores on 1 August), here are the rest of it: