A bit of the 'Life of Pi' for Bangkok World Opera Week
Inspired by the Man Booker Prize-winning novel, "A Boy and a Tiger" gives HIV-infected Thai kids a chance to shine on stage
Composer Bruce Gaston was inspired by the Booker Award-winning novel Life of Pi by Yann Martell, but he has moved far from the novel’s premise into a meditation about modern children living with HIV.The second annual Bangkok World Opera Week begins Monday and will feature three different performances over seven days: Beethovan’s “Ode to Joy,” international favorite “La Boheme” and Thailand's very own “A Boy and a Tiger.”
It’s the last one that has us really excited. Inspired by Yann Martell’s Man Booker Prize-winning “Life of Pi,” famed local artist Bruce Gaston has created an opera performed entirely by kids, including HIV-infected children of Lopburi’s Baan Gerda orphanage.
“A Boy and a Tiger,” presented by the Bangkok Opera HIV Awareness Project with the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra, is a thought-provoking musical performance about modern children living with HIV. Moving away from the basic premise of the novel, the tiger becomes a metaphor for the virus the children must learn to live with.
To create the opera, composer Gaston combined the Orff Schulwerk system of music education -- which meshes music, movement, drama and speech -- with Thai classical singing and xylophone playing. For more on this rare but greatly aprreciated addition to Bangkok's arts scene, check out the Bangkok Opera website.
“A Boy and a Tiger" will be performed on November 28-29, at 2pm and 7:30pm. Tickets for all Bangkok World Opera Week performances are available at Thaiticketmajor.com.
It’s the last one that has us really excited. Inspired by Yann Martell’s Man Booker Prize-winning “Life of Pi,” famed local artist Bruce Gaston has created an opera performed entirely by kids, including HIV-infected children of Lopburi’s Baan Gerda orphanage.
“A Boy and a Tiger,” presented by the Bangkok Opera HIV Awareness Project with the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra, is a thought-provoking musical performance about modern children living with HIV. Moving away from the basic premise of the novel, the tiger becomes a metaphor for the virus the children must learn to live with.
To create the opera, composer Gaston combined the Orff Schulwerk system of music education -- which meshes music, movement, drama and speech -- with Thai classical singing and xylophone playing. For more on this rare but greatly aprreciated addition to Bangkok's arts scene, check out the Bangkok Opera website.
“A Boy and a Tiger" will be performed on November 28-29, at 2pm and 7:30pm. Tickets for all Bangkok World Opera Week performances are available at Thaiticketmajor.com.
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