Opera Siam’s bag of tricks

In less than a month, Opera Siam presented Bangkok with no fewer than seven events – including three performances of an opera, the Thailand premieres of major repertory works for symphony orchestra and for chorus – from intimate chamber events all the way to a 105-piece orchestra concert. 

First, Opera Siam presented Grigori Frid’s earnest monodrama “The Diary of Anne Frank” at the Bangkok Art and Culture. The opening night was so packed that extra chairs were brought in, making the aisles hard to negotiate. Sponsored by the German and Israeli Embassies, this was an intense production that moved its audience, some of them to tears.

The 1968 opera itself sounds a bit like warmed-over Shostakovich, but it is effective enough especially when interpreted by a soprano such as Kaleigh Rae Gamache, who created an endless variety of tone and characterization. This was a tour de force – a grown woman playing a fourteen year old girl without any condescension or over-simplifying – wholly believable.

The Siam Philharmonic played well – thrillingly in fact. It was difficult to believe that a mere nine players could produce such rich orchestral timbres. But, Singapore conductor Adrian Tan conducted with such gusto that the orchestra threatened to overwhelm the soprano at times. In fact, his energetic approach was best in the most nightmarish or militaristic passages.

As director and designer of the show Somtow Sucharitkul used the built-in claustrophobia of the tiny venue tellingly. He opened up the monodrama so that the characters talked about, the Frank family and their friends the Van Daans, appeared as silent roles, painted and dressed in monochrome so that the entire production resembled an animated old photograph. Movable flats are moved around to make the stage more and more of a closed trap as the story progresses. At the end, the flats are dramatically rolled off stage to reveal that the orchestra is dressed as Auschwitz inmates – a reminder that in the concentration camp, a prison orchestra used to play music in order to allay the panic of those about to be slaughtered.

This was the first opera ever staged at BACC and it shows that with the right work, the venue’s disadvantages can be turned into strengths. Particularly interesting was the fact that with minimal publicity, this work was able to draw three full houses.

After three performances of “Anne Frank”, the Siam Sinfonietta winds presented a chamber concert jointly conducted by Somtow Sucharitkul and Trisdee na Patalung – Stravinsky and Mozart. Both were strikingly idiomatic and enjoyable. The last event at the BACC was the Thai premiere of an iconic choral work, the “All-Night Vigil” by Rachmaninov, one of the crown jewels of Russian repertoire. The newly formed Calliope Chamber Choir gave a nuanced, rich performance, singing an hour’s worth of gruelling virtuoso music with elan, even though the very un-resonant acoustic of the hall worked against Rachmaninov’s cathedral effects. The audience was small, but deeply appreciative. Somtow’s latest initiative, the Calliope Choir was founded specially to introduce more of the European choir repertoire to Thailand.

From chamber music to huge spectacle – on May 11, Opera Siam presented two major concerts at the Thailand Cultural Centre. Opera Siam’s now annual “Very Big Music Festival” commemorates the “cosmic vision” of HRH Princess Galyani – and this year the theme was outer space.

Siam Philharmonic gave an inspirational account of Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra” – otherwise known as the theme from “2001 – A Space Odyssey.” Strangely enough, this was the Thailand premiere of the complete thirty-minute piece, although the first two minutes have been played almost to death by every orchestra in town. This performance clearly showed that, as one of Bangkok’s three regular symphony orchestras, the maverick Siam Philharmonic is unique in its ability to unleash torrents of passion and provide a searing emotional experience. This was an extreme performance – conductor Somtow Sucharitkul stretched tempi in slow parts and whipped the allegros to a frenzy – and the orchestra, led by Hungarian violinist Vilmos Olah, followed into the abyss and through to transcendence. The SPO mustered 105 performers for the Strauss – no mean feat in itself.

After that, one barely noticed the three excerpts from John Williams’ “Star Wars” music that followed, though the audience was noisily appreciative.

Finally, on May 11, the Siam Sinfonietta, Opera Siam’s youth orchestra project, played the fiendishly difficult “The Planets” by Gustav Holst under Maestro Somtow’s baton. It was a daring bit of programming, but the young players were equal to its challenges. Siam Sinfonietta have just returned from Carnegie Hall’s Sounds of Spring Music Festival, where they won their fourth international gold award.

“Neptune”, the last piece in the “Planets” suite, featured a guest appearance by members of the Calliope Choir and also the children’s choir from the Imanuel Music School, a fascinating classical music venture originally established by Lutheran clerics in the disadvantaged area of Klong Toei. Some were as young as eight, but they handled the complex, bitonal music, all in 5/4 time, with nary a hitch.

An added bonus was the iconic “Darth Maul” music from Star Wars – the Phantom Menace. Somtow rewarded the enthusiastic audience by replaying this as the encore – at double speed!