The mid-autumn festival returns once again this September, ushering in an entire month of mooncakes, lanterns, and the Esplanade’s annual weekend celebration – Moonfest! Taking place from 21st – 23rd September, the 14th edition of Moonfest will feature traditional Chinese arts as they showcase and shine a spotlight on legendary figures such as Ji Gong the Living Buddha, and stories like Romance of the Three … Continue reading Preview: Esplanade’s Moonfest 2018
This holiday season, come enjoy children’s choir music at its most angelic as Licha Stelaus Productions welcomes The Saint Marc Children’s Choir (PCSM: Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint Marc) to present an evening of catchy Disney tunes and familiar Christmas carols! The Saint Marc Children’s Choir is best known for singing in the 2004 Academy-award nominated movie Les Choristes, about a successful orchestra conductor who returns to France when … Continue reading Preview: Saint Marc Children’s Choir – An Evening of Disney Delights & Season’s Greetings presented by Licha Stelaus Productions
Celebrating 30 years of Dick Lee’s contributions to the Singapore musical theatre scene. Dick Lee is one of those Singaporeans who’s done so much for the country, he’s become a household name synonymous with good local music. And beyond the pop music scene, Lee has also contributed significantly to the musical theatre scene, to the extent that he has been dubbed ‘the Andrew Lloyd Webber … Continue reading Review: Singapopera – A Celebration of the Musicals of Dick Lee
After a stunning midyear concert, the Orchestra of the Music Makers continues their 10th anniversary celebrations with the centre piece of the entire year – a performance of Gustav Mahler’s 2nd Symphony Resurrection. Mahler’s Second Symphony was known to have taken six years to perfect, changing the musical landscape forever on account of its scale and sheer ambition. Following a critically acclaimed 2010 performance of Resurrection, OMM is … Continue reading Preview: Mahler 2 by Orchestra of the Music Makers
The Esplanade’s annual Pesta Raya festivities are always a joy to attend and witness. With a whole host of well-curated activities celebrating Malay culture, this year’s festival even feels like a massive party, as fireworks went off nearby at the National Day preview, and a mini pasar malam was in full swing at the Esplanade itself. As part of Pesta Raya 2018, Malaysian singer Sean … Continue reading Pesta Raya 2018: Tarakucha! by Sean Ghazi and Ida Mariana (Review)
A colourful romp of unbridled fun through Malay folklore opens Pesta Raya 2018. The Malay oral tradition is a rich one, full of colourful characters and unforgettable stories. But as these tales become increasingly hard to hear in the traditional form, so must they evolve with the times to find a new audience. That evolution can be seen in the 2018 Pesta Raya – Malay … Continue reading Pesta Raya 2018: Alkesah (Review)
Created by and starring Malaysian singer and actor Sean Ghazi, TARAKUCHA! is described as “the Terrer-Menerrer Big Band with a Malaysian twist”, and essentially continues Sean Ghazi’s fascination with the Malaysian songbook, after the release of his AIM award-winning album ‘Semalam’. In TARAKUCHA!, expect a night of music from Malaysia’s greatest composers and songwriters, ranging from P. Ramlee to Sudirman to Jimmy Boyle. But know that these won’t be straight covers … Continue reading Pesta Raya 2018: TARAKUCHA! by Sean Ghazi and Ida Mariana (Preview)
Just as one’s ears prick up for a story the moment one hears the magical words ‘once upon a time’, storytellers of Malay folklore begin their tales with an equally powerful opener – ‘alkesah’, or ‘as the story goes’. And celebrating that long history of oral tradition then, is the aptly titled Esplanade commissioned musical Alkesah, opening the Esplanade’s 2018 Pesta Raya – Malay Festival of the … Continue reading Pesta Raya 2018: An Interview with Zulfadli ‘Big’ Rashid (Alkesah)
After a rousing concert in June at the Singapore Conference Hall, Ding Yi Music Company returns this July with a far more intimate affair at the Esplanade Recital Studio with Music From Turn of the Century. In this concert, for the first time ever, Singapore’s foremost Chinese Chamber Music company will be led and conducted by Cultural Medallion recipient and Singapore Chinese Orchestra Music Director Tsung Yeh. This … Continue reading Preview: Music From Turn of the Century by Ding Yi Music Company
Dick Lee is perhaps one of the few Singaporeans whose name is immediately recognizable. For many Singaporeans, Dick is best known as the composer of ‘Home’, the song most synonymous with National Day. Written abroad while harbouring thoughts of missing Singapore, the 1998 song has since gone on to become a mainstay at just about every National Day Parade, at any and every Singaporean event … Continue reading Nothing But Pride for Local Talent: An Interview with Dick Lee (Singapopera 2018)
