Concert Review: Traversing 《“樂”无界》by Ding Yi Music Company

Ding Yi opens their 2026/27 season with a bold, celebratory selection of works that shows off the chamber ensemble’s capabilities and global vision. Opening its 2026/27 season, Traversing by Ding Yi Music Company makes an ambitious artistic claim: that a Chinese chamber ensemble can be not only rooted in tradition, but also be expansive, borderless, and globally resonant. Under the direction of maestro Tsung Yeh, … Continue reading Concert Review: Traversing 《“樂”无界》by Ding Yi Music Company

★★★★★ Theatre Review: Lao Jiu – The Musical 《老九》音乐剧 (2026) by The Theatre Practice

This definitive Singaporean Chinese musical reckons with the impossible decision between dreams and duty, and more crucially, what it costs to choose your own life in Singapore. First written and staged in 1990 by the late theatre doyen Kuo Pao Kun with The Theatre Practice (Practice), Lao Jiu was a script that was always meant to evolve. Originally a stage play, its eventual transformation into … Continue reading ★★★★★ Theatre Review: Lao Jiu – The Musical 《老九》音乐剧 (2026) by The Theatre Practice

Concert Review: Shanghai Symphony Orchestra In Concert

A historic Singapore debut by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra blends culinary-inspired modernism, Romantic virtuosity, and symphonic grandeur into an evening of vivid contrasts and sustained musical dialogue. There was a palpable sense of anticipation at the Esplanade Concert Hall as audiences gathered for the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra’s first-ever performance in Singapore. As the final stop of its 2026 Asia-Pacific tour, the evening carried a quiet … Continue reading Concert Review: Shanghai Symphony Orchestra In Concert

Concert Review: Go Local! Happy Chinese New Year Concert by Ding Yi Music Company

The Lunar New Year is a time of reunion, celebration, and hopeful beginnings. At the Go Local! Happy Chinese New Year Concert, Ding Yi Music Company ushered in the festive season with warmth, vitality, and musical flair. Presented in collaboration with the China Cultural Centre in Singapore, the evening brought together Ding Yi’s musicians alongside guest artists from Hong Kong’s Windpipe Chinese Music Ensemble and … Continue reading Concert Review: Go Local! Happy Chinese New Year Concert by Ding Yi Music Company

Civility Falls Apart: An Interview with director Nelson Chia and the cast of Nine Years Theatre’s God of Carnage 《杀戮之神》

At the start of Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage, everything looks reasonable. Veronica has prepared food. Michael has arranged the living room. Annette arrives determined to be gracious. Alan, distracted by his phone, still shows up. Four adults sit down to discuss their sons’ playground conflict calmly, civilly, like responsible people should. That the evening collapses into chaos feels less like a shock than a … Continue reading Civility Falls Apart: An Interview with director Nelson Chia and the cast of Nine Years Theatre’s God of Carnage 《杀戮之神》

Preview: Lao Jiu – The Musical 《老九》音乐剧 (2026) by The Theatre Practice

In a fast-changing Singapore obsessed with credentials, career pathways and the promise of stability, Lao Jiu: The Musical feels both nostalgic and strikingly contemporary. Set against the backdrop of 1980s Singapore, this beloved local musical returns in April 2026 with renewed urgency, asking a question many of us still grapple with today: what do you do when your dreams do not align with expectations? Presented … Continue reading Preview: Lao Jiu – The Musical 《老九》音乐剧 (2026) by The Theatre Practice

Preview:《杀戮之神》God of Carnage by Nine Years Theatre

This March, one of the sharpest, funniest dissections of modern adulthood comes to Singapore as Nine Years Theatre (NYT) stages God of Carnage, Yasmina Reza’s internationally celebrated dark comedy. Running from 20 to 29 March 2026 at The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre @ Funan, the production promises an evening that begins politely, and ends gloriously unhinged. If NYT’s sold-out run of Twelve Angry Men proved … Continue reading Preview:《杀戮之神》God of Carnage by Nine Years Theatre

Concert Review: Elements – SSO × Ding Yi

SSO and Ding Yi weave Chinese and Western musical voices into a rich, contemporary soundscape, celebrating cultural dialogue, collaboration, and Singapore’s evolving artistic identity. In an exciting cross-cultural collaboration this January, Elements – SSO × Ding Yi brought together musicians from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and the renowned Ding Yi Music Company. Spanning continents and traditions, the program explored a vibrant fusion of Chinese … Continue reading Concert Review: Elements – SSO × Ding Yi

Concert Review: ECOncert 《声态不息》 by Ding Yi Music Company

A collaborative, multi-genre invitation to forest bathe in the Esplanade Recital Studio, and co-exist with nature all around us. Now in its third edition, Ding Yi Music Company’s ECOncert has come to embrace an identity unmistakably its own, one rooted in environmental consciousness, an attentiveness to the natural textures of sound, and a desire to re-enchant the everyday landscapes around us. This year, the team … Continue reading Concert Review: ECOncert 《声态不息》 by Ding Yi Music Company

★★★☆☆ Concert Review: Battle Scores by Ding Yi Music Company

Music meets martial arts as Ding Yi mixes genres in their newest experimental concert. In troubled times, heroes emerge, and in Battle Scores, Ding Yi Music Company reminds us that collaboration remains one of art’s greatest strengths. Co-presented with the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, this imaginative concert fuses Chinese chamber music with theatrical storytelling, creating a world where music and martial arts collide. Conducted by … Continue reading ★★★☆☆ Concert Review: Battle Scores by Ding Yi Music Company