Turandot

Maybe it's the setting...or maybe it's my first experience...but despite the good reviews, I will say that it's ok for me.

I attended my 1st Western opera last night with some colleagues, and amid the foreign language, I can't really tell if it was a good or bad experience.

Firstly, the costumes & props were set in ancient China, but it was really weird hearing them sing in Italian. Maybe it's also because of the setting that I started to make comparisons with Chinese opera, which I find is more interesting as in Chinese opera, it's not just about the singing, but also about the movements & acting. Coz in the Western opera, when they start singing, it seems like they have to be stationary. I also noticed that 1 of the leads' movements was not as refined as it should be, given the character played.
Maybe through this, I learn to appreciate Chinese opera more. Hey, I've been to both good & bad ones and also in dialects that I can't understand.

But despite these I must say that I enjoyed Nancy Yuen's (Liu) and Lee Jae Wook's (Calaf) performance. Also I liked the familiar Nessun Dorma (None Shall Sleep Tonight) performed by Lee. And of course, being a fan of Maestro Tsung Yeh, who conducted the orchestra, I would say the music was good.

Some parts of the show were rather funny, given some comic characters (Ping, Pong, Pang) and the dramatic actions, especially the ending kissing scene where Calaf very dramatically pulled Turandot towards him to kiss her. We couldn't help laughing at that part. Not that I'm not a romantic, but if you saw it, you would know what I mean.
Also, we noticed that the props were likely inspired by the "Mystery Men" exhibition hosted by the ACM last year, with all the Bronze Age emphasis, though Peking wasn't actually the capital at that time.

Anyway, maybe next time, I should watch something that's set differently like Aida, or in a more European setting.

Baybeats 2008

I also caught my 1st Baybeats this weekend (Sat & Sun).
I kind of liked the 2nd night better, though I caught less acts.

For Sat, I watched You & Whose Army (YAWA), The Oddfellows, Electrico, and Amberhaze. Of the 4, I liked Amberhaze best, with the ambient sounds and something closer to what I listen to. Haha...maybe also because the rest were in the outdoors, amidst the "smoke" and heat. Anyway, those were more on the "rock" side. It was really crowded.

On the 2nd night there were less people around. Me & my friend caught Sourgrapes and The Analog Girl. We "passed by" some other acts while on our way to the shows, which were playing music that I was more used to & they were quite nice too. My friend & I were discussing who might be The Analog Girl's influences coz we heard some familiar styles like it could be something from Lamp, Mono, or even Jap anime. Didn't really take to her 1st 2 pieces, but it got better later.

Songcraft session

It has been 2 months since my last Songcraft and I was already beginning to miss it earlier this month. Maybe partly because we haven't met up since, and have been busy at work, overseas for work trip, that I needed some time off. And I always love Songcraft sessions coz I give myself an "excuse" to take leave from work and do what I like and hang out with people I like. :)

Anyway, it was a cozy Songcraft session today, with about 10 people this month. Heard last month was overwhelming due to the new Facebook group set up, which gave little time for everyone to share something. So this month, everything was low-key and it was really good as we could have more time for chatting, go at a more relaxed pace and ended off with a mini jam session.

We had some newcomers and I think it was good that it was a small group as they were a little shy. But in the end, I think they shared more songs than they intended to. :P
I also shared a song "Will You Sing Again" which was done about 2 months ago and posted up in an earlier entry.

Of course, to end it all off, we went to our usual after-Songcraft hangout at Coffee Club.

Money No Enough 2

It has been a busy weekend for me and 1 of the things I did on Friday was to watch Money No Enough 2. Well I was claiming my National Day off and also had a movie voucher which was expiring on 31 Aug, and Money No Enough 2 was a show that had almost the right timing that afternoon before Songcraft, so I went. Of course, some of my friends did say it was not bad.

Anyway, I caught the movie. It was actually a more or less "serious" show and in the later half, a tearjerker (yes, I did cry). There were some "grousing" about govt policies like ERP and such, but essentially, it was about family and the need to be 脚踏实地, and also the never-say-die attitude. If you fail, face it and be practical; be humble about it.

Rating? Well, considering that it is a Singapore film, it was not too bad. I would give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Songs with Questions

Just realised that I have a few songs that are basically like asking questions, e.g. Dear Child, How Do I and Will You Sing Again.

A show of being reflective?

Wall·E

Just caught Wall·E with my mum as she had free tics to the show. Actually, I didn't have any high expectations of the show, or even had the intention to watch it. But since the tics were free, well, I didn't mind.

And I'm glad I did.

Well, I won't say much about the plot, but the show was quite sweet and funny at some parts.

Basically, it is crying out that the Earth needs looking after and that if we don't stop destroying it with our garbage, there will no longer be any beautiful flora & fauna, sky & sea for our future generations to see.
Another underlying moral (to me) is that escapism doesn't solve the problem, but only makes it worse.

"Let the little children come to me"

I was very moved with the message at service today. Although the message was more for fathers, but the focus was also on the children.

Malachi 4:6
" He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers..."

What really struck me was that many children are not coming into the their destiny through neglect, abuse, etc., resulting in bondage, and it is painful to see how all these can happen, even within a family. Worse still is the high abortion rate, where these children will never come into their destiny.

GOD, our Heavenly Father, treats every child as precious & blesses parents with the safekeeping of them, even as we are His children. But due to Man's selfish reasons, children suffer and are hindered in their path to fulfil their destiny. Children are our future. Didn't Jesus say in Luke 18:16:

"...Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

Rating my songs

Have just been thinking: how would i rate my songs?

Besides the usual rating that they are just amateurish stuff and raw, I find that maybe, friends can find my character/personality inside the song...like a distinct style.

It doesn't sound commercial, etc., but I can say that maybe (just maybe) when friends who know me listen to them, they would go "Hey! That's so you!"

Had this thought when recalling that someone made a comment like that when I did my art installation last year. So yeah, maybe my songs might be so too? :P

NAFA Symposium 2008

I attended the 2-day symposium held over these 2 days (Fri & Sat) and despite my struggle over jetlag-induced sleep deficiency (ok ok, I did doze off at times), I must say it was a good one, a "mind-opener" to the Asian arts scene for me. And I must admit, it was (sad to say) much more interesting than the other conference which I just came back from.

Well, maybe the context was different, with 1 focusing on libraries (most concepts not new) while this symposium is more academic (content). Or maybe it's the artist side of me "hungry" for all this info. It was indeed enriching and it was really the direction which I was looking at for my specialisation (Asian music) as I'm still quite "blur" about this subject. I wanted to pursue more of trends in music rather than the classical aspect. And furthermore, it is about Asia!

Also, from the symposium, I think I have someone in mind to ask to be my mentor (that is if I can get him as my mentor). He seems to be a busy man, a Singaporean based in US.

Thumbs up! I think this is the inaugural symposium and I do hope to go for future ones.

Singapore Youth Festival 2008 Art & Craft Exhibition

I viewed an art exhibition at NAFA today (Galleries 1 & 2) and I found some of the pieces quite well-done. They were works by mainly JC students & some secondary school ones awarded with Gold.

However, I soon found them disturbing. Art (by youngsters) today is no longer innocent. Looking at the overall theme in their works, I found the context dark and many depicting the darker side of society, life, culture, etc. What are our youngsters facing in our society today that things are so bleak in their perceptions? They seem to be placed in a situation of early maturity and it is sad. you know the scary part? They might not find it bleak coz it has become an everyday part of life.

Maybe I'm too idealistic...innocent in my mind?