Bangkok--10 Jul--Image Impact
Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance & Music is back for its 11th season and will be offering theatre-goers a record choice of 16 productions to enjoy during September 7 — October 17, 2009. Since its inception in 1998, the Festival has aimed to bring the best dance and music productions from around the world to Bangkok for theatre lovers to enjoy, and has grown into being the premier cultural event in Thailand with the support and cooperation of its long-standing sponsors.
Kicking off the Festival on September 7, 2009 will be the award-winning production of La Traviata, one of Verdi’s most loved operas, performed by the Ekaterinburg Opera Theatre from Russia. This romantic three-act production, with over 150 singers and musicians, will be performed under the baton of one of the most talented and respected conductors in the world today, Mikhail Granovsky from the Bolshoi Theatre Moscow. La Traviata will be followed by Puccini’s Tosca and Madame Butterfly on September 9thand 11th, respectively, and all three spectacular opera productions will be performed in Italian with subtitles in Thai and English.
Apart from these powerful classical operas, music aficionados can enjoy a Symphony Concert by the Ekaterinburg Symphony Orchestra on September 10th conducted by Fabio Mastrangelo, who is renowned for ‘his highly individual, fluid gesture and his strong interpretive and technical technique’, and the energetic music and singers from the double-bill STARCH and Beets Brothers jazz bands presented by the embassy of Switzerland, and the embassy of the Netherlands along with ING Life Limited, respectively, on October 1st. Grammy-nominee Mariza will bring the soulful music of Fado to her fans here through the courtesy of the Embassy of Portugal on October 8th.
Dance lovers will also be spoilt for choice. To start, there’s Carmen TV, a two-act modern ballet on September 13th, and La Forza del Destino (The Force of Destiny), a modern one-act opera-ballet on September 15th. Both productions will be performed by the talented Kiev Modern Opera/Ballet Theatre, and their first ever appearance in Bangkok is presented by Aerosvit Ukranian Airlines. Another leading contemporary dance company that will be performing in Bangkok for the first time will be the Spellbound Dance Company of Italy, presented by the Embassy of Italy, on September 29th. Their production of Mauro Astolfi’s Carmina Burana cleverly portrays feelings and emotions of the troubled humanity during Medieval Europe.
On September 17th, join the performance of Punarnava: To Kathak Anew (loosely translated, New Again), a riveting Indian dance production based on the classical Kathak dance tradition but with all aspects, including music and lights, reinterpreted into a contemporary work. Performed by Kathak Kendra, this world premiere performance is presented by the Embassy of India. Meanwhile, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Thailand will be presenting Moon Water (or Shui Yuei in Chinese) on September 22nd and 23rd. Performed by the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre under the creative guidance of Lin Hwai-Min, acclaimed choreographer and recipient of the 2008 International Movimentos Dance Award, a lifetime achievement award from Europe, Moon Water is bound to stun audiences in Bangkok.
For the young and young-at-heart, Cinderella on Ice ballet is a must-see production on September 26th and 27th. Performed by the Imperial Ice Stars, produced by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions UK, and supported by OOCL and Agility, the stage of the Thailand Cultural Centre will be turned into an ice rink and audience will be enthralled to see the skating moves!
For classical ballet lovers, mark your calendars for October 4th and 6th when CP Group is supporting Shanghai National Ballet’s two productions, Romeo & Juliet and La Sylphide. While the Romeo & Juliet production was choreographed by Derek Deane, OBE and former Artistic Director of the English National Ballet, La Sylphide is a rearrangement of the original August Boumonville version by French choreographer Jean-Paul Gravier, a recipient of the National Order of Arts and Letters award from France and former Director of Ballet National du Rhin, in 2002.
Furthermore, the Embassy of Spain and ING Life Limited will be presenting Fuego! by the renowned Carmen Mota’s Flamenco Dance Group of Spain. Fuego is Spanish for ‘fire’ and indeed, the production will exude all the fiery rhythms in a contemporary, spectacular staging on October 10th and 11th.
To end this year’s Festival with a ‘bang’ on October 16th and 17th, Les Ballets Trockadero De Monte Carlo, also known as “The Trocks”, from New York, will bring the funniest ballet performance to the stage. The Trocks, consisting of professional male dancers will perform different programmes on each night - shows for the whole family not to be missed!
Bangkok’s 11th International Festival of Dance & Music will be held at the Thailand Cultural Centre. It is organized by International Cultural Promotions Ltd. and sponsored by Bangkok Bank Plc, B. Grimm, Dusit Thani Bangkok Hotel, King Power Group, Post Publishing Plc, Siam Cement Group, Thai Airways International Plc and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
For details of the Festival program, please visit www.bangkokfestivals.com.
Tickets can be purchased at ThaiTicketMajor’s call center 02 262 3456, outlets or on www.thaiticketmajor.com. Early Bird ticket buyers can enjoy a 10% discount from now until July 31, 2009 for any number of tickets purchased, and from August 1, 2009, the 10% discount will only apply for purchases of 10 tickets or more. Students presenting their ID’s will be entitled to a 20% discount per ticket per performance. Please contact ThaiTicketMajor for purchase conditions.
For further information, please contact Image Impact Ltd:
Chutinun Guna-Tilaka
Tel: +66 (0) 2357 1180 — 3 Ext. 108 E-mail: [email protected]