Opera Siam's Carmina Burana 2016

CARL ORFF’S

CARMINA BURANA JULY 21, 2016 • 8 PM THAILAND CULTURAL CENTRE (MAIN HALL)

BANGKOK • THAILAND

ทรงพระเจริ ญ เนื่องในโอกาสมหามงคลเฉลิมพระชนมพรรษา

สมเด็จพระบรมโอรสาธิราชฯ สยามมกุฎราชกุมาร ๒๘ กรกฎาคม ๒๕๕๙ ดวยเกลาดวยกระหมอม ขาพระพุทธเจาคณะนักแสดง และคณะผูจัดการแสดง เทศกาลขับรองประสานเสยงนานาชาติ ๒๕๕๙

Celebrating HRH The Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s Birthday Opera Siam International, Department of Cultural Promotion and Festa Musicale (Czechia) present

Carl Orff’s CARMINA BURANA Nancy Yuen • Kyu Won Han • Puntwitt Asawadejmetakul Calliope Chamber Choir • Bangkok Japanese Chorus • Immanuel Children’s Choir • Bangkok Music Society • Collegium Technicum (Slovakia) • Siam Orpheus Choir Siam Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Somtow Sucharitkul

Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi 1. O Fortuna 2. Fortune plango vulnera I. Primo vere 3. Veris leta facies 4. Omnia sol temperat 5. Ecce gratum Uf dem anger 6. Tanz 7. Floret silva 8. Chramer, gip die varwe mir 9. Reie 10. Were diu werlt alle min II. In Taberna 11. Estuans interius 12. Olim lacus colueram 13. Ego sum abbas 14. In taberna quando sumus III. Cour d'amours 15. Amor volat undique 16. Dies, nox et omnia 17. Stetit puella 18. Circa mea pectora 19. Si puer cum puellula 20. Veni, veni, venias 21. In trutina 22. Tempus est iocundum 23. Dulcissime Blanziflor et Helena 24. Ave formosissima Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi 25. O Fortuna

PROGRAMME NOTES CARMINA BURANA If there is such a thing as the one-hit-wonder category in classical music, Carmina Burana certainly qualifies. Its composer, Carl Orff, wrote a number of other works, both before and after Carmina Burana, and he is also known for his Schulwerke (School works), a collection of music for children, and its accompanying pedagogical method of music education. However, nothing else Orff accomplished in his 87 years comes close to rivaling the fame and staying power of Carmina Burana.

In 1934 Orff first came across a collection of 13th-century poems compiled at the Benedictine monastery in Benediktbeueren, located in Bavaria, near Munich. Carmina Burana (Songs of Beuren) is an eclectic collection of over 200 poems and songs.

Their themes range from religious ecstasy to secular love, lust, drunken debauchery and bawdy humor. Most of the poems are in Church Latin, although some feature a medieval Bavarian German dialect, and a few poems are in French. Several poems mix the languages together.

In setting these texts, Orff rejected the prevailing styles of German music that dominated the first third of the 20th century.

Gone are the sophisticated harmonies, 12tone rows, esoteric theoretical underpinnings and profound philosophical subtexts.

Instead, Orff wrote strophic songs (melodies which do not develop or change from verse to verse), using basic harmonies derived from major, minor and modal scales.

He also emphasized dynamic rhythms and prominently featured percussion instruments. Most central of all, Orff chose texts that celebrate primal human experiences.

Carmina Burana was an immediate hit at its premiere, despite official Nazi disapproval (New Yorker critic Alex Ross noted that “Orff’s showpiece was far removed from Hitler’s favorite Wagner operas.”).

The 24 texts Orff selected are arranged in three large sections: 1. Primo vere (Spring) and Uf dem Anger (On the Green); 2. In taberna (In the Tavern); and 3. Cour d’Amours (Court of Love). The first section is preced-

ed by Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (Fortune, Empress of the World), the best-known section of Carmina Burana. The concept of the implacable goddess of Fortune spinning her wheel to determine one’s fate is the central theme of Carmina Burana, a medieval trope on “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” The authors of these poems, whose focus on earthly pleasures borders on the obsessive, were motivated by belief in the capricious, often malevolent, power of Fortune’s wheel to destroy their lives.

Primo vere begins with a trilling figure in the piccolos, flutes, oboes and pianos, a musical birdcall signaling spring’s awakening. The first three songs focus on the rejuvenation of the earth. They also link the first stirrings of spring with feelings of love and passion, which are also emerging from winter’s long hibernation. The music is spare; in the first song, Veris leta facies, the chorus sings in unison octaves; the second, Omnia Sol temperat,features a baritone soloist and the barest wisps of accompani-

ment. Only when spring fully bursts forth, in Ecce gratum, do we hear vocal harmonies, accompanied by full orchestra. The subsection Uf dem Anger features a number of dances, both earthy (Tanz) and refined (Reie). The songs are full of flirtation and seductive promises.

In Taberna both celebrates and decries the effects of alcohol. Estuans interius is an operatic rant for baritone, who declares, “My soul is dead/So I look after the flesh.” Olim lacus colueram, sung by tenor and accompanied by a plaintive bassoon solo, is told from the viewpoint of a swan being roasted on a spit at a drunken feast. Ego sum abbas parodies Gregorian chant. It tells of the fictional abbot of Cockaigne, who loses both his money and his clothing at the gambling table. The men’s chorus echoes his despairing cry of “Wafna!” In taberna quando sumus venerates, in a series of toasts, all who partake of drink. The men’s voices are accompanied by alternating bursts of brass and percussion and prosaic oom-pahs.

The songs of Cour d’amours focuses on the two main facets of love in medieval times: courtly love, the yearning for a chaste and usually unattainable lady (as in Dies, nox et omnia), and the frankly erotic (Si puer cum puellula and Veni, veni, venias). The soprano soloist expresses both longing and virginal hesitancy (In trutina mentis dubia and Tempus est iocundum); she later conveys her ecstasy with an orgasmic aria (Dulcissime). This section ends with the chorus’ grand quasi-religious paean to “the most beautiful one.” With language usually reserved for prayers to the Virgin Mary, she is compared to Helen of Troy, Blanchefleur, the heroine of a 12th-century romance, and Venus herself. Before anyone is allowed to linger in love’s realm, however, Fortune’s ever-spinning wheel returns for a final and portentous comment on life’s ultimate unpredictability.

Program Notes by Elizabeth Schwartz

COMPOSER

CONDUCTOR

CARL ORFF

SOMTOW SUCHARITKUL

The German composer Carl Orff is widely known for his work in music education, particularly in exploration of the connections between music and movement. In his compositions he found a similar connection between the dramatic and the musical, couched in his very personal style of writing, with its insistent, repeated patterns of notes and compelling rhythms.

“The most well-known expatriate Thai in the world” — International Herald Tribune

The best known of all Orff’s works is Carmina Burana, a large scale work making use of the medieval Latin and Old German lyrics found at the monastery of Benediktbeuern. The work has become even more familiar to unmusical audiences by use of elements from it in advertising and in films. Carmina Burana is generally performed only as a form of secular oratorio, in the concert hall, rather than on the stage, as is Catulli Carmina (Songs of Catullus), again intended for theatrical use.

Once referred to by the International Herald Tribuneas “the most well-known expatriate Thai in the world,” Somtow Sucharitkul is no longer an expatriate, since he has returned to Thailand after five decades of wandering the world. He is best known as an award-winning novelist and a composer of operas.

Born in Bangkok, Somtow grew up in Europe and was educated at Eton and Cambridge. His first career was in music and in the 1970s he acquired a reputation as a revolutionary composer, the first to combine Thai and Western instruments in radical

new sonorities. Conditions in the arts in the region at the time proved so traumatic for the young composer that he suffered a major burnout, emigrated to the United States, and reinvented himself as a novelist.

His earliest novels were in the science fiction field but he soon began to cross into other genres. In his 1984 novel Vampire Junction, he injected a new literary inventiveness into the horror genre, in the words of Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, “skillfully combining the styles of Stephen King, William Burroughs, and the author of the Revelation to John.” Vampire Junction was voted one of the forty all-time greatest horror books by the Horror Writers’ Association, joining established classics like Frankenstein and Dracula.

ing Bangkok’s first international opera company and returning to music, where he again reinvented himself, this time as a neo-Asian neo-Romantic composer. The Norwegian government commissioned his song cycle Songs Before Dawn for the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, and he composed at the request of the government of Thailand his Requiem: In Memoriam 9/11 which was dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy.

In the 1990s Somtow became increasingly identified as a uniquely Asian writer with novels such as the semi-autobiographical Jasmine Nights. He won the World Fantasy Award, the highest accolade given in the world of fantastic literature, for his novella The Bird Catcher. His fifty-three books have sold about two million copies world-wide.

According to London’s Opera magazine, “in just five years, Somtow has made Bangkok into the operatic hub of Southeast Asia.”

His operas on Thai themes, Madana, Mae Naak, Ayodhya, and The Silent Prince have been well received by international critics.

His most recent operas, the Japanese inspired Dan no Ura and the fantasy opera The Snow Dragon, have gained him acceptance as “one of the most intriguing of contemporary opera composers” (Auditorium Magazine). He has recently embarked on a ten-opera cycle, Dasjati - The Ten Lives of the Buddha - which when completed will be the classical music work with the largest time span and scope in history.

After becoming a Buddhist monk for a period in 2001, Somtow decided to refocus his attention on the country of his birth, found-

He is increasingly in demand as a conductor specializing in opera and in the late-romantic composers like Mahler. His

repertoire runs the entire gamut from Monteverdi to Wagner. His work has been especially lauded for its stylistic authenticity and its lyricism. The orchestra he founded in Bangkok, the Siam Philharmonic, mounted the first complete Mahler cycle in the region.

Somtow’s current project, the Siam Sinfonietta, is a youth orchestra he founded five years ago, using a new educational method he pioneered and which is now among the most acclaimed youth orchestras worldwide, receiving standing ovations in Carnegie Hall, The Konzerthaus in Berlin, Disney Hall, the Musikverein in Vienna, and many other venues around the world.

He is the first recipient of Thailand’s “Distinguished Silpathorn” award, given for an artist who has made and continues to make a major impact on the region’s culture, from Thailand’s Ministry of Culture.

SOLOISTS kok Opera, the New Zealand International Festival of Arts, the Barbados Opera Festival, at the Royal Albert Hall in 1998, 2000 and 2003.

NANCY YUEN, Soprano One of the most outstanding and exciting singers from Asia, Nancy Yuen made her debut upon graduation from the Royal Academy of Music, London, with the Welsh National Opera, singing the title role of Madama Butterfly to great critical acclaim.

She has since reprised the role all over the world, notably with the English National Opera, Scottish Opera, West Australian Opera, Opera Queensland, Opera Northern Ireland, Singapore Lyric Opera (SLO), Bang-

Other starring operatic roles include Romilda (Xerxes), Violetta (La Traviata), Aida, Gilda (Rigoletto), Tytania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Nedda (I Pagliacci), Leonora (Il Trovatore), Tosca, Liza (The Queen of Spades), Mimi (La Bohéme), Jenny (Mahagony Songspiel), Micaela (Carmen), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Liu (Turandot), Antonia (Les Contes D’Hoffmann), Thaïs and Countessa (Le Nozze di Figaro).

A celebrated recitalist and versatile concert artist, she performs regularly with major orchestras and choral societies. Her appearances have included performances with Christopher Hogwood, Trevor Pinnock, Richard Armstrong, Carlo Rizzi, Tsung Yeh and Helmuth Rilling.

Her special association with renowned Thai composer/author/director Maestro Somtow Sucharitkul started in 2003 when

he first wrote the title role of the opera Mae Naak for her and later the role of Sita in Ayodhya in 2006.

Nancy gives regular vocal masterclasses in the region. She was one of the adjudicators for the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival in 2007 and 2013. She was also one of the panel judges for the “Competizione dell’Opera” organized by Opera Bremen, Germany in 2009 and International Vocal Competition presented by Opera Siam in 2013. As an opera director, she has staged Salieri’s Prima la Musica and Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte.

In 2012 she sang Donna Anna for SLO and made her role debut as Desdemona in Otello in 2013 with Opera Siam. She will sing the leading role in Somtow’s new opera Dan no ura in 2014. Nancy was the Head of Vocal Studies at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore from July 2003 to February 2010.

She has been the Head of Vocal Studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts since March 2010.

appeal - all welcome qualities for this libertine’s libertines. San Francisco Chronicles” at the Merola Opera Program and made the 31-city-tour with Western Opera Theater with the role.

KYU WON HAN, Baritone

HAN made his European debut in 2001 as Ping in Turandot at Strasbourg's Opéra National du Rhin launched by a special prize at Belvedere Competition and he made Japanese debut as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte at the New National Theater of Tokyo. Since then he has been expanding his career all over the world with vast repertoire.

Han’s voice has been praised by numerous critics for its smooth and noble yet powerful quality.

A frequent guest to concert stages throughout Japan, he appeared in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Soccer Game’s Anniversary Concert in Yokohama, and in the acclaimed “Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with 10,000 Choirs” at the Osaka Castle Arena in Osaka since 2003.

Kyu Won Han has made numerous appearances with San Francisco Opera since his debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni. HAN also appeared in numerous productions such as Turandot, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Parsifal and etc ... An alumnus of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship Program, HAN was featured in the title role of Don Giovanni with rave review “vocal glamour, dashing stage presence and plenty of sex

His discography includes his solo album “Questo Amor” by Avex lable, Gustav Holst’s “Savitri” by Pheonix lable, DVD of Beethoven 9th symphony by Avex label and OST album of KBS drama “Great King Sejong”.

He has collaborated with numerous prestigious orchestras such as The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, National Chamber Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Siena Wind Orchestra etc. He also appeared

for NHK, TV Asahi, KBS, San Francisco Classic Station for recital, concerts, interviews and various concerts.

As a celebrated recitalist and concert artist, HAN’s repertoire includes Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Brahms’ Requiem, the Faure's Requiem the Verdi Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mahler's Eighth Symphony, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Carmina Burana and name a few …

Recent engagements includes Beethoven 9th at Carnegie Hall NewYork, World premire opera “Dan no Ura” by Somtow Sutkaritkul in Thailand, Annual Opera Gala with National Opera Korea, L’elisir d’amore with Seoul Metropolitan Opera, La Traviata with Youngsan Opera in Seoul, And Han will sing Korea Premiere of “Sea Drift” by Delius this fall and He will return to Idaho to sing Scarpia in Tosca.

A native of Seoul, Korea, HAN received his Bachelor and Master degrees in Music from Manhattan School of Music. His numerous awards include the Belvedere Competition, the Mario Lanza Competition, the Oratorio Society Competition, the Licia Albanese/ Puccini Competition, the Dicapo Opera Competition and the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition.

PUNTWITT ASAWADEJMETAKUL, Countertenor

Puntwitt Asawadejmetakul, Countertenor, was awarded a scholarship to participate in Michael Chance’s 2015 Masterclass in Siena where he also had a chance to worked with Daniel Taylor, Ian Partridge Lynne Dawson and Paul Beier. He graduated his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the Conservatory of Music, Rangsit University (full scholarship) where he studied with Kittinant Chinsamran. He started his pop vocal training at the age of 9 with Wasan Kedkeaw at Yamaha school of music. Later on, he continued his classical vocal training with Salith Dechsangworn at College of Music Mahidol University (campus for general public).

He was an Alto soloist for Bach’s Manificat in D with Chulalongkorn University Chamber Orchestra and Concert choir, Handel’s Messiah with Bangkok Combine Choir, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Siam Philharmonic Orchestra. He was invited to join Asain Youth Choir for One (AYCO) in 2014.

Puntwitt is a member of the Young Soloist Program by Opera Siam where he took on the role of Pane from Cavalli’s La Calisto and premiere the roles of Page to Lord Yoshitsune from Sucharitkul’s Dan no Ura and Mendicant’s son /Grand vizier from Bhuridat and Dukulaka from Suwana Sama of Sucharitkul’s DASJATI opera cycle.

CHORUS

IMMANUEL CHILDREN’S CHOIR

The Children's Choir is one of activities of Immanuel Music School, which started as a part of Immanuel Lutheran Church's community project in the deprived community of Klong Toey, Bangkok in the year 2000.

Today the school runs a music program involving 100 children aged 3-20 in musical activities such as individual lessons on violin, viola, cello, guitar and piano, orchestras, choir and music theory.

The music school has so far had an important role in changing lives of hundreds of children in the neighborhood, not only for those who got the opportunity to study further to become professional musicians, but it has also been an overall encouragement for children to improve their academic skills at school and give the children happiness and hope for the future. This has resulted in many of the young musicians getting access to further education. It has also given the children an alternative to the drug and crime infested environment where they live, and in many cases an alternative to the families they don't have.

Music Director Solveig Meling Johannessen Conductor Varin Artvilai

Choristers Jetnipith Shuppanrangsee Thanyarat Shuppanrangsee Akarawin Wongjorm Natee Chanhar Netnapar Chanhar Thitiwudhi Thongtawat Pornchanok Yorseang Chayapar Sirijarupruek Praewnapar Pudngern

BANGKOK JAPANESE CHORUS

“Bangkok Japanese Chorus” is a cultural activity circle possesed by Japanese Association in Thailand. We hold annual concert every year around Sukhumvit area.

Rehearsal: Every Saturday afternoon at City Resort Sukhumvit 39 Annex Contact: Miho Fukutome email: mipomipof@gmail.com Music Director Daisuke Iwabuchi Soprano Hiromi Miyagawa Tadami Ichida Miho Miura Aiko Kudo Hiroe Nagata Asami Hiratsuka Sachie Arashida

Naho Inukai Mika Gyoten Tae Miyata Alto Minako Okamoto Yuki Nakahara Akiko Yamada Chikako Iguchi Miwa Sugiyama Yoshimi Fujii

Tenor Masanori Yoshida Tomoaki Imamura Yasushi Tabuchi Shin’ya Kano Bass Shuichi Ito Keita Morinishi Koji Sekiguchi

BANGKOK MUSIC SOCIETY

The Bangkok Music Society supports the performance and appreciation of music in Thailand, and its choir provides the primary activities of the BMS. The BMS choir aims to present two to four performances each season. Membership is open to singers of all levels and abilities, with a mix of Thai and non-Thai members. The emphasis is on enthusiasm for, and commitment to, the enjoyment of singing.

Rehearsals: Wednesday evening from 6:459:15 pm during season (usually from mid August to early June) at Fortune Town, near Rama IX MRT station www.bangkokmusicsociety.com www.facebook.com/bangkokmusicsociety

Soprano Bing Gallego Irish Pearl Tabaranza Patsy Hung Sasithorn Wongsiriwatana Takako Tamura Alto Christiane Oelrich Rujicha Pongboonrit Tomoko Terai

Tenor Audwin Thomas Yap Daniel Hernandez Peter Henderson Prasit Champrasert Bass Curt Ayers III Jason Anthony Sebastian Rohas Rubio

COLLEGIUM TECHNICUM, SLOVAKIA The mixed singer choir of the Technical University of Košice was founded in 1983.

Collegium Technicum belongs to the top representatives of choral singing in Slovakia. It has been awarded numerous prizes at festivals and competitions in Slovakia and abroad: Spittal an der Drau (A), Praha, Middlesbrough (GB) – the most successful choir in competition, Český Krumlov (CZ), St. Petersburg (RU). In 2003 choir received at the its 20th anniversary award of the city Košice and in 2013 at the 30th anniversary prize of the President of the Košice Region.

Collegium Technicum conducts since 2010 Tatiana Švajková.

The choir has given 186 concerts and festival performances abroad in 20 states of Europe, Israel, South America, USA and Mexico. In 2007 during the concert tour in the United States of Mexico an audience of 30,000 people attended 16 concerts given there. The choir, as the first one from Slovakia, sang in the famous Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City with 9100 concert hall lis-

teners. Collegium Technicum has worked together with 44 professional conductors, 31 of them from abroad, namely Peter Phiplips (GB), Oliver Dohnányi, Ondrej Lénard, Petr Altrichter, Tomáš Koutník, Peter Breiner, Irina Bogdanovich (RF), Gergely Ménesy (H). The choir has given concerts with renowned soloists, namely Miroslav Dvorský, Ľubica Rybárska, Martin Babjak, Peter Mikuláš, Iveta Matyašová, Michal Lehotský, Jiří Sulženko(CZ), Eva Dřízgová(CZ), Rafal Bartminski (PL), József Mukk(H) and others.

The choir cooperated with university choirs in Split, Madrid, Budapest, Moscow, Oslo, León, Warwick, Prague, Bratislava, Ostrava, Cracow, Bologna, Lisbon, Wisconsin, Warsaw, Ljubljana and Riga.

Since the season 1986/87 the choir has worked together regularly with the State Philharmony of Košice, which resulted in 19 oratorio works. The has also worked together with the Slovak Radio Symphony

Orchestra, the orchestra of the State Theatre in Košice, the orchestra of the State Opera in Banská Bystrica and several university and festival orchestras in Slovakia and abroad.

From discography Collegium Technicum let us mention Ivan Hrušovský CD Cantate Domino (1997), CD Zdeněk Lukáš Te Deum Laudamus (2002) and CD Collegium Technicum at the Opera (2007), hereinafter 30. jubilee concert of Collegium Technicum at KHJ in 2013 (CD DVD). Discography includes numerous recordings, mostly anniversary choir concerts

President Michal Kostelny Conductor Marián Vach Choristers Patrik Antal Klára Aulitisová Ladislav Balog Monika Balogová Róbert Balogh Ľudovít Barták Zoltán Bartko Ingrid Begalová Kosmas Bekiaris Dominik Béla

Ľubomír Bittner Peter Bober Lenka Burešová Štefan Džačko Pavol Faix Patrik Faix Lucia Farkašová Ľudmila Gulová Filip Hlaučo Alena Holúbkovičová Jaroslava Kahancová Slávka Kočanová Ivan Kozlay Lea Kozlayová

Anton Kron Zuzana Kršáková Aneta Krupeľáková Denisa Kuncová Michaela Kupcová Lucia Marinčáková Peter Nagy Alexandra Pástorová Jana Pataky Jana Polakovičová Tibor Sallai Jana Sallaiová Melinda Sasáková Róbert Valenčák

SIAM ORPHEUS CHOIR & CALLIOPE CHAMBER CHOIR THE SIAM ORPHEUS CHOIR was founded in 2001 and has at times, over the years, been Bangkok’s premier choral group, performing as the Bangkok Opera’s resident chorus in challenging new works and classics like Turandot and Aida. It has also been a pioneering ensemble in concert music, performing the Southeast Asian premieres of works like Tippet’s A Child of Our Time as well as the great classics such as Mozart’s C Minor Mass and the Brahms' Requiem.

CALLIOPE CHAMBER CHOIR is a special, limited and invitational small choir, exists to explore the traditional European choral repertoire which is not being done in Bangkok right now. This ranges from Mediaeval to Contemporary Music.

Alto Miho Fukutome Pornnarin Kampatee Potprecha Jak Cholvijarn Jiraros Kewjaila Kelly Flick Rhea Magbanua Mahayag Thitawan Panyakham

Music Director Somtow Sucharitkul

In the last few years, in addition to performing in operas and musicals and giving a large variety of concerts, the choir has also hosted several major events and festivals involving hundreds of members of choruses from many countries. In 2012, they helped premiere Somtow’s Requiem for the Mother of Songs, the largest classical concert ever held in Thailand, which was seen by thousands of people both live and through webcast. In 2013, the large work they performed was Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand, and Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in 2015.

Soprano Areeya Rotjanadit Jasmine Sae-Yang Kittiya Ekpojananan Rocco Ambrosini Sotida Chairidchai Thamolwan Khumprakob Thanyarat Suaysuwan Yaowapa Hoisungwarn Chomphupak Poonpol Jitsommanas Muninnoppamas Kulisara Sakoonrat Anika Thavarojana Arisa Tunteam Chantal Gopinath Ema Naito-Bhakdi Kangsadan Kroekkamon Thalassa Tapia-Ruano Ferrand

Tenor Christian Ham Naprach Satchathai Surapong Wattananontachai Teerapong Sawangwattanakul Chaiporn Phuangmalee Charin Sumakka Pattranon Rodprasit Piset Noiwangklang Thitipon Onpreeda

The Orpheus Choir has a number of spinoff ensembles such as the Calliope Chamber Choir, Musica Ficta early music group, and other groups.

Bass Kittisak Patcham Krittinon Chowaratana Nutthapon Kingket Rom Parnichkun Sokim Heng Chayut Makarasut Hussien Domocmat Thanapat Supornasest Yotsawan Meethongkum

ORCHESTRA SIAM PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA some of Thailand’s most well-known instrumentalists. In 2010, the orchestra sponsored the creation of a new youth orchestra in order to widen the pool of young talent.

The Siam Philharmonic is currently the most experienced opera orchestra in Southeast Asia, with a wide repertoire that includes contemporary operas as well as established classics by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Britten, and Wagner. From 2009 to 2015, it had completed all of Mahler cycle.

The Siam Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 2002 by Somtow Sucharitkul.

Originally named the MIFA Sinfonietta, the orchestra originally was intended to fulfill a need for a small symphony orchestra in Bangkok that concentrated on the core classical repertoire and brought more historically informed performance techniques to the region. In 2003, the orchestra became the resident orchestra of the Bangkok Opera.

Since that time its repertoire and standing have grown tremendously. In 2005, rec-

ognizing that with its Mahler and Wagner premieres it could no longer be called a “sinfonietta”, and at the suggestion of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, the Bangkok Opera’s board changed the orchestra’s name to the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Siam Philharmonic has a special mission to young people and from the beginning instituted a highly successful apprentice program, in which exceptionally talented students were recruited to play alongside top professionals. Graduate of this program have gone on to become

Opera magazine’s critic Jonathan Richmond has said of this orchestra: “The playing was clean, taut, and full of detail.

Strings were sharply disciplined to evoke a thousand feelings, while sensitive to exploring the depths of those emotions, once exposed. And the winds: just a single flute could enslave the whole Thailand Cultural Centre to the belief that Verdi’s extraordinary fiction was in fact true to life. This was music of a greatness surely more splendid than anything Bangkok has ever heard before. Bravo!”

CONCERTMASTER

MUSICIANS 1st Violin Chalat Limpisiri Kornchanok Treevittayanuruk Angkun Uabamrungjit Setthawut Samranpan Warot Ratanaphund Praewa Saithai Bodin Phukang Napat Nanasombat Varin Artvilai Kewalee Pukpom

CHALAT LIMPISIRI Chalat started his violin lesson when he was 11. Later, he continues to study at Pre-college program, College o Music, Mahidol University then he graduated Bachelor’s of Music from College of Music, Mahidol University.

He has gained a lot of experiences as a violinist by attending a large number of musical events such as a member of Dr. Sax chamber Orchestra, South East Asian Youth Orchestra (SAYOWE), Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) 2012-2013, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra and Siam Philharmonic Orchestra.

Chalat hold a Master’s Degree in violin performance from Conservatory of Music, Rangsit University and he continues stydying for Violin diploma at Prayner Konsevatorium, Vienna, Austria with Barbara Gorzynska.

2nd Violin Hiran Bongkotmas Nirutsa Usomboon Varissara Tanakom Poonyaporn Preawpanich Patcharapan Sombuntanont Petchusa Kuwattanasiri Puri Boonprad Chanon Meesangnil Pim-orn Chaorattana Auntra Nissaisat

Viola Pongthep Jitduangprem Tapanatt Kiatpaibulkit Phanupong Sermpongpaisal Vichantra Kamrai Pornnaphas Pinchomchay Pasthiya Namwong Violoncello Samatchar Pourkarua Panyaphat Wongwechwiwat Nontaphat Chuenwarin Nithid Banjerdthaworn Nutthan Surinpaeng Chaimongkol Wiriyasatjaporn Sutthida Thongnopratana Metha Paoprakit Contrabass Pongsathorn Surapab Khunakorn Svasti-Xuto Sureeporn Feesantia Ittidej Boonlerluk Patsakorn Intarasombat Weeraphat Khunkaew

PRODUCTION TEAM Flute Sarote Kanprasert Pannita Chalermrungroj

Trombone Nath Khamnark Kittipat Ratinai Theerapol Supmool

Oboe Kijjarin Pongkapanakrai Nichapat Siripojanakul Thanawan Thawatwiboon

Tuba Poumpak Charuprakorn

Teerawat Ratthanaphapameteerat

Clarinet Ratchanon Intarasathit Supak Wittayanukulluk Pisoln Ponthongthin Bassoon Kotchapak Boonviparut Tanakan Theerasuntornvat Prateep Noppakijja French Horn Thanapak Poonpol Icey Charoenponpot Tharit Korthammarit Jittinant Klinnumhom Trumpet Wannachat Sripan Teerapol Kiatthaveephong Nutdanai Karuhardsuwarn

Timpani Daisuke Iwabuchi Panthit Rojwatham Percussion Thammasak Hirunkajonroj Kanthita Komolphan Wasupon Tarntira Taveesak Sae-heng Piano Kant Lormsomboon Vorarat Wattanasombat Celesta Boonraksa Permthamsin

Artistic Director Somtow Sucharitkul Production Manager Nath Khamnark Orchestra Manager Pongsathorn Surapab Jittinant Klinnumhom, assistant Chorus Coordinator Puntwitt Asawadejmetakul Kittiya Ekpojananan, assistant Orchestra Librarian Chaimongkol Wiriyasatjaporn Account, Finance & General Administrator Ratana Roipornkasemsuk Personal Assistant to Mr. Somtow Sucharitkul Tapanatt Kiatpaibulkit Production Assistant Watsiri Sukkarin Siriwat Chantawaro Graphic Designer Chaimongkol Wiriyasatjaporn

OPERA SIAM INTERNATIONAL • BANGKOK OPERA FOUNDATION

34 Trinity Complex Building, Soi Pipat 2, Silom road, Silom sub-district, Bangrak district, Bangkok, 10500, Thailand.

Tel. +66 2 231 5273 • Fax. +66 2 231 5280 • www.operasiam.com

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