The Lunch Box

Last updated

The Lunch Box is a chamber opera by Thai composer Thanapoom Sirichang and Thai librettist Bringkop Vora-Urai. Composed entirely in Tasmania under the guidance of IHOS Artistic Director Constantine Koukias, The Lunch Box may be the first opera sung in Thai to blend traditional Thai music and contemporary Western opera.

Contents

A Buddhist tale

The Lunch Box tells the story of a mother's devotion to her only son, a fundamentally good farmer whose rage at the untimely death of his father has tragic consequences. This much-loved Thai Buddhist folk tale is believed by the librettist to be based on an actual incident that occurred in Thailand 300 years ago. [1]

Composing western opera for Thai voices

Composition challenges included using the Western staff and notation for Thai music, which is usually notated quite differently, and writing for a tonal language such as Thai, in which changing the pitch of the word can change its meaning. [2]

Premiere

The opera, for two singers and ensemble, was commissioned by IHOS Music Theatre and Opera, and premiered in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, on 26 March 2009 as part of the 2009 10 Days on the Island Festival. The Hobart production featured soprano Monique Klongtruadroke and baritone Saran Suebsantiwongse, both of whom have been trained in the Western tradition and have sung with the Bangkok Opera. The "minimalist and bold" [3] portable set evoking a Thai rice field was created by the production's Sydney-based Dutch Director and Designer Joey Ruigrok van der Werven. The Western-style ensemble, which is incorporated into the stage design, comprises violin, clarinet, cello, flute, keyboards and percussion, but a gong and water percussion recall Thai rural scenes. [4] The premiere season was conducted by Tasmanian conductor Michael Lampard.

Related Research Articles

Olegas Truchanas was a Lithuanian-Australian conservationist and nature photographer.

Raffaele Marcellino Australian composer (born 1964)

Raffaele Marcellino is an Australian composer.

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the smallest of the six orchestras established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Theatre Royal, Hobart

Theatre Royal is an historic performing arts venue in central Hobart, Tasmania. It is the oldest continually operating theatre in Australia; Noël Coward once called it "a dream of a theatre" and Laurence Olivier launched a national appeal for its reconstruction in the 1940s.

Matthew Dewey

Matthew Ingvald Dewey is an Australian classical music composer, singer, and music producer.

Constantine Koukias is a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. He is the co-founder and artistic director of IHOS Music Theatre and Opera, which was established in 1990 in Tasmania's capital city, Hobart.

Maria Grenfell is an Australian music teacher and composer of New Zealand origin.

Michael Robert Garth Lampard is an Australian opera singer, conductor and composer born in Hobart, Tasmania.

The Tasmanian Bands League (TBL) is the governing body of community banding in Tasmania. It is also an affiliated banding association of the National Band Council of Australia (NBCA). The Tasmanian Bands League's operations include the running of music camps and workshops within the state, as well as the organisation of local band-related competitions.

The Hobart Chamber Orchestra (HCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Hobart, Tasmania. HCO was formed by a group of Hobart string players and conductor Reg Chapman in 1987. Annual programming of at least four concerts provides performance opportunities for student musicians, musicians pursuing other careers and semi-professional and retired musicians. The ensemble also provides soloist performance opportunities for Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra members and exceptional music graduates alike and regularly collaborates with the Tasmanian Chorale and soloists to perform choral repertoire. Guest conductors have included Myer Fredman, Jean-Louis Forestier, Christopher Martin, Gary Wain, Phillip Taylor and Joseph Ortuso, and the orchestra regularly performs under the direction of violinist, Peter Tanfield. The HCO has commissioned works by composers including Matthew Dewey, Don Kay, Dylan Sheridan and Thanapoom Sirichang.

Don Kay (composer) Australian classical composer (born 1933)

Donald Henry Kay AM is an Australian classical composer.

Days and Nights with Christ is the first of five full-scale operas by the Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. This was the first opera / music theatre production by IHOS Experimental Theatre Troupe. It premiered at Hobart's Salamanca Arts Festival in 1990 and two years later was a highlight of the Festival of Sydney. The work, which explores images associated with schizophrenia, was inspired by the experiences of the composer's brother and by their shared Greek heritage.

Tesla – Lightning in His Hand is a large-scale opera about Serbian American engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), composed by Constantine Koukias, a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias, with libretto by Marianne Fisher.

Thanapoom Sirichang is a Tasmanian composer, born in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. He began his music study at the age of eight by joining the Prince Royals College Ensemble. He studied music with Gain Tepparat and Yutthapol Sakthamjareon until he finished college in 1998. Sirichang completed a Bachelor Music degree with first class honours in 2002 at the Payap University in Chiang Mai before completing a Masters of Music in Composition in 2006 with Professor Douglas Knehans at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. He now lives in Melbourne, Victoria.

MIKROVION, by Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. This opera is described by Maria Shevtsova as "an epic opera about AIDS".

The Divine Kiss — The Evil is Always and Everywhere is an opera by Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. The opera explores the imagery of the seven saving virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance, faith, hope and charity.

Olegas is an opera based on the life of Lithuanian-born Tasmanian wilderness photographer Olegas Truchanas. Music for the opera was composed by Constantine Koukias a Tasmanian composer and opera director of Greek ancestry based in Amsterdam, where he is known by his Greek name of Konstantin Koukias. The libretto was written by Natasha Cica.

IHOS Music Theatre and Opera is a Tasmanian opera company was established in Hobart in 1990, by composer and artistic director Constantine Koukias, and production director Werner Ihlenfeld to create original music-theatre and opera works.

National Theatre, Launceston Theatre in Launceston, Tasmania

The National Theatre is a historic former theatre in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.

References

  1. ↑ Vora-Urai, Bringkop, "Librettist's Note", The Lunch Box: Program, 10 Days on the Island, 2009
  2. ↑ Sirichang, Thanapoom 2009, interview with Dan Vo, The Fool and the Opera, JOY 94.9 Melbourne, 29 March 2009
  3. ↑ Boulanger-Mashberg, Anica 2009, "Delicacies in a Lunch Box", TasmanianTimes, 27 March 2009
  4. ↑ Ruthven, Elizabeth 2009, "Thai opera's gentle and moving drama", the Mercury, 27 March 2009
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.