Review: Leonard Bernstein’s Mass by Orchestra of the Music Makers

The Esplanade Concert Hall becomes a joyous megachurch for one night only. The Orchestra of the Music Makers takes its name from Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s poem Ode, inspired to remain movers and shakers as they dream, cultivate and create music each year. Celebrating both Bernstein’s centennial as well as the Orchestra of Music Makers’ 10th anniversary, last Saturday saw the Singapore premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s musical epic Mass. Combining multiple genres of music … Continue reading Review: Leonard Bernstein’s Mass by Orchestra of the Music Makers

Preview: Highlights of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra 2018/19 Season

  The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has released their entire 2018/19 season! Marking their 40th Anniversary, expect everything from the obligatory 40th Anniversary Gala to a Christmas Concert at the end of the year, alongside fresh, contemporary performances ranging from video game music all the way to orchestral reimaginations of Daft Punk and Radiohead. Read on to find out some of the highlights to look forward to … Continue reading Preview: Highlights of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra 2018/19 Season

Bernstein’s Mass: An Interview with Conductor Joshua Kangming Tan and Director Edith Podesta

As the Orchestra of the Music Makers commemorates their 10th anniversary in 2018, there’s no better way to celebrate than with a massive performance uniting some of the most diverse genres of music with composer Leonard Bernstein’s Mass. Best known for composing West Side Story, Bernstein’s Mass brings together Broadway, jazz, Western art music, epic chorus, orchestral works and more in this ambitious undertaking, and in its Singaporean premiere, … Continue reading Bernstein’s Mass: An Interview with Conductor Joshua Kangming Tan and Director Edith Podesta

Preview: The Lion King presented by BASE Entertainment Asia and Sliding Doors Entertainment

BASE Entertainment Asia and Sliding Doors Entertainment are set to have a roaring 2018 season as they bring back the very first show that played at Mastercard Theatres 7 years ago when Marina Bay Sands first opened – Disney’s The Lion King! Since its premiere in Minnesota in 1997, more than 90 million people around the world have experienced the sheer joy and theatrical mastery … Continue reading Preview: The Lion King presented by BASE Entertainment Asia and Sliding Doors Entertainment

Preview: Leonard Bernstein’s Mass by Orchestra of the Music Makers

Is there anything that Edith Podesta cannot do? After dipping her toes into directing opera last year with Hansel and Gretel, the critically acclaimed theatremaker will once again be teaming up with the Orchestra of Music Makers this June to present the Southeast Asian premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass. First composed in 1971 at the behest of Jacqueline Kennedy for the inauguration of the John F. … Continue reading Preview: Leonard Bernstein’s Mass by Orchestra of the Music Makers

Review: Sensing the Dark (Esplanade’s Flipside 2018)

Darkness feels like an old friend in this concert with a twist.  Directed by Julian Wong with vocal direction by Irene Jansen, Sensing the Dark is a concert with a twist – the musicians and audience members are clothed under a blanket of darkness, initially with almost no light illuminating them as they begin to play. We’re not even privy to seeing their faces before the show … Continue reading Review: Sensing the Dark (Esplanade’s Flipside 2018)

Review: And Suddenly I Disappear – The Singapore ‘d’ Monologues by Access Path Productions

The deaf and disabled take to the stage in the world premiere of the first multilingual, intercultural, deaf culture and disability arts theatre project created between the UK and Singapore “This body is dangerous,” proclaims disabled performer Daniel Bawthan proudly. “Why should we need a cure?” It seems almost unthinkable that in the liberal world of 2018, the deaf and disabled are still discriminated against even … Continue reading Review: And Suddenly I Disappear – The Singapore ‘d’ Monologues by Access Path Productions

Preview: Masterpieces by Gu Guan Ren 《蓝色畅想》by Ding Yi Music Company

  Ding Yi Music Company presents their latest show this June as they join forces with renowned composer Gu Guan Ren (顾冠仁) and present some of his best known works at the at the SCO Concert Hall for one night only! Titled Masterpieces by Gu Guan Ren, the concert has been organised as part of Ding Yi’s new “Composer Series” initiative, and will comprise of two segments – the … Continue reading Preview: Masterpieces by Gu Guan Ren 《蓝色畅想》by Ding Yi Music Company

Review: Masters of Comedy by Toy Factory

A loving tribute to Chinese comedians and comedy in all its forms.  In our childhood, we recall many nights glassy eyed and glued to the television while wolfing down our dinners. There’s a keen sense of nostalgia associated with the act of watching television, remembered mainly as a family activity and one of the few times we truly get to kick back, relax and just … Continue reading Review: Masters of Comedy by Toy Factory

And Suddenly I Disappear: An Interview with Director Phillip Zarrilli and Writer Kaite O’Reilly

For years, Singaporeans have considered disability arts on a different scale from regular performing arts, often relegating it to the point of charity or pity, and considering its performers ‘second class citizens’. This May, though, UK-based veteran theatremakers Phillip Zarrilli and Kaite O’Reilly will be showing Singapore and the world what deaf and disabled arts is really all about with their new production And Suddenly I Disappear: … Continue reading And Suddenly I Disappear: An Interview with Director Phillip Zarrilli and Writer Kaite O’Reilly