There are interesting political developments unfolding in Thailand all the time it seems, but in my focus on the governmental woes of the country I missed the equally interesting announcement of Bangkok Opera's new season. It is wholly ambitious:- Massanet's THAÏS in June
- Bruce Gaston's A BOY AND TIGER in July (World Premiere)
- Puccini's LA BOHEME in August
- Wagner's SIEGFRIED in Novemeber, continuing the "Bangkok Ring"
- Gluck's ORFEO ED EURIDCE in December
There is too much for me to comment on here, so I'm going to focus on the Gaston premiere (not that the Thai premiere of Thaïs, the resumption of the Bangkok Ring Cycle, and Michael Chance starring as Orfeo aren't worthy). A Boy and Tiger is based on "The Life of Pi" and will be Bangkok Opera's first presentation of a Thai language opera (something they've been criticized for neglecting in the past). It's a children's opera, created by Gaston for the young members of the Baan Garda community, a refuge for HIV postive orphans. In this adaptation, the Tiger comes to be a symbol for AIDS. Read more about Gaston's concept on the Bangkok Opera website, and note the last paragraph:
Bruce Gaston, the composer, has combined the Orff Schulwerk system of music education with the rich tradition of Thai classical singing and xylophone playing to create the music for the opera.
Gaston has created Thai music dramas in the past and was a pioneer--along with Sucharitkul--in combining Western art music and Thai classical music sounds in unconventional ways, starting in the 1970s (more on that here, in Chapter II, section vii and Chapter III, sections iv & v). Judging from this collaboration and recent postings on Somtow's blog, it seems that after nearly thirty years, he and Gaston are ready to start a fresh partnership, something that frankly did not seem likely to me even just a year ago. I'm sorry not to be there for the results, which are sure to be interesting. A Boy and Tiger is an important project that I hope will find an audience beyond Thailand.


