Opera Siam again a triple threat

Within the space of a month, Opera Siam has once again managed to present three wildly divergent events in Bangkok, confirming its status as the most “full-service” classical music entity in Thailand.
First, last month, there was the Siam Philharmonic’s “Exotic Love” concert featuring three ambitious works about love – Strauss’ “Don Juan”, the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s “Tristan” and Rimsky-Korsakov’s exhilarating tone-poem “Scheherazade” featuring the London Symphony’s Min Yang as soloist. 
It was a triumphant comeback for this orchestra, which has been somewhat hidden from view since last autumn. 
Somtow Sucharitkul conducted the Wagner and Strauss – basically his home turf – with great subtlety and flexibility, and the orchestra followed every nuance. The Scheherazade was almost as good, with a remarkable show of virtuosity from the Chinese violinist. 

Siam Opera staged the rare children’s opera “The Happy Prince” by Malcolm Williamson at Thailand Cultural Centre last month. Photo courtesy of Siam Opera 

The Siam Philharmonic can reaffirm its claim to be one of the world-class orchestras of Southeast Asia.
Less auspicious was the season-opening concert of the Siam Sinfonietta, which is Opera Siam’s youth wing. A comparison of the list of players of the two orchestras easily explains why. 
Two years ago the Sinfonietta had reached an incredible peak, playing Mahler to standing ovations in Europe, credibly essaying works like “The Rite of Spring” that even their older colleagues in Thailand had not attempted. 
This year a side-by-side look at the lists of players explains everything. The Siam Philharmonic now consists almost entirely of Sinfonietta graduates, and we have a new Sinfonietta, beginning again essentially from scratch, with many new faces.
Despite being thrown back by about five years, the Sinfonietta played some of its ambitious programme of Wagner, Haydn and Beethoven with gusto, shining in the “Meistersinger Overture” and evincing much stylistic sophistication in Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, with a particularly moving rendition of the Allegretto. 
An idiomatic reading of Haydn 103 was marred by some odd glitches, but one can predict that, in short order, the new recruits will be giving the senior orchestra a run for its money again.
The third item cooked up by Opera Siam was the rare |children’s opera “The Happy Prince” by Malcolm Williamson. Members of the Young Soloists Programme, Opera Siam’s trainee department, plus two children’s choirs mounted this charming piece under the direction of Somtow, who simultaneously directed and conducted.
The Oscar Wilde fairytale on which the opera is based is well known and has spawned at least a half dozen musical adaptations. Williamson’s is tuneful and sophisticated. Billed as a “children’s” opera, it is not that easy to perform. 
An astonishing interpretation from 13-year-old Raphael Ayrle as the Swallow – a part most often done by an adult woman impersonating someone younger – was mature and nuanced and impeccably sung. 
Areeya Rotjanadit braved a heavy gold costume to perform with moving grandeur. She shows great promise. 
All the minor roles were deftly done. More than 30 children performed as a chorus, mixing young musicians from the Immanuel slum project with high-society children from international schools. And they blended perfectly.

Prawwanitsita Neesanant created a gorgeous, childlike village of cutout houses for the show. Photo courtesy of Opera Siam.

Special mention should |be made of Prawwanitsita Neesanant’s artwork, which was used to create a gorgeous, childlike village of cut-out houses. 
Somtow used simple but subtle means to emphasise the opera’s moral ambiguities. A work that might be seen as charming fluff was shown to have a depth that belied its apparent simplicity, and a power far beyond its modest trappings.
Small-scale operatic productions such as this do a great deal to bring the “queen of arts” to a wider audience. More of these intimate shows, please.