Singapore fling
SET in the closing days of Singapore's decadent thoroughfare, Bugis Street - The Musical explores the tensions between old and new through the eyes of a young woman born there in the 1960s but brought up in England for 20 years. Played by Jamie Rivera (who played Kim in the London Miss Saigon), Mei Li re-discovers her roots while working for the Urban Redevelopment Authority on the demolition of the street, re-living the drama of life with the deafening shouts of hawkers and the rowdiness of the sailors out for cheap thrills.
Bugis Street, at the Lyric Theatre of the Academy for Performing Arts (APA) from November 1 to 6, was scored by Singapore composers Edmund and Raymond Ooi with the theme song written by Charles Strouse, creator of Tomorrow from the Broadway musical Annie. Tickets available through Urbtix on 734 9009 or the hotline on 668 2026.
The Hong Kong Singers' latest extravaganza is Frank Loesser's Guys and Dolls. The Broadway musical, directed by Donna Scattolini and with musical direction by David Cowan, is being performed at the Shouson Theatre, the Arts Centre, from November 2 to 12. Proceeds are being donated to the China Coast Community. Tickets through Urbtix. THE packed houses and plaudits that greeted violinist William Preucil at the weekend will ensure that tickets are hard to come by for this weekend's two concerts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic at the City Hall Concert Hall (on Friday and Saturday). The programme includes Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4, K.218, as well as Stravinsky's Firebird suite. Check for ticket availability on 734 9009.
Preucil and the Phil are also together for a Mozart concert on October 26 across the waters at the Macau International Music Festival. On the 27th the Phil will be joined by violinist Vasco Barbosa for a symphonic concert which includes Bruch's Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor as well as the Firebird suite and Dvorak's From the New World symphony. Other highlights of the festival include I Musici Montreal on October 29 and, of course, Verdi's opera Falstaff, from October 30 to November 2. Tickets through the Macau Government Tourist Office (857 2287) or Tom Lee Music in Causeway Bay or Tsim Sha Tsui.
Some advance notice: look out for the Boston Symphony Orchestra accompanied by the Tanglewood Festival Chorus at the beginning of December. There will be three concerts (on December 2, 3 and 4 at the Cultural Centre), all featuring the music of Berlioz including his Requiem in the third concert.
YOU can spot the refugee from the Central Government Offices tonight when senior officials join the cast of A Tale of Two Kingdoms, a Chinese opera in English at the City Hall Concert Hall in aid of the Po Leung Kuk. Look out for Michael Suen as the Prime Minister and Dominic Wong as the Minister. Tickets through Urbtix.