''The Lunch Box'' is a
chamber opera Chamber opera is a designation for operas written to be performed with a chamber ensemble rather than a full orchestra. Early 20th-century operas of this type include Paul Hindemith's ''Cardillac'' (1926). Earlier small-scale operas such as Pergoles ...
by
Thai composer
Thanapoom Sirichang and Thai
librettist Bringkop Vora-Urai. Composed entirely in Tasmania under the guidance of IHOS Artistic Director
Constantine Koukias
Constantine Koukias (born 14 October 1965) 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 Theatr ...
, ''The Lunch Box'' may be the first opera sung in Thai to blend traditional
Thai music and contemporary Western opera.
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.
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.
Premiere
The opera, for two singers and ensemble, was commissioned by
IHOS Music Theatre and Opera, and premiered in
Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
,
Tasmania, Australia, on 26 March
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
as part of the 2009
10 Days on the Island 10 Days on the Island is a biennial cultural festival held in Tasmania, Australia. The first was held in 2001. It is Tasmania's premier cultural event, and presents exhibitions, performances and community events in 50 locations around the island.
...
Festival. The Hobart production featured
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Monique Klongtruadroke and
baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...
Saran Suebsantiwongse, both of whom have been trained in the Western tradition and have sung with the
Bangkok Opera
Opera Siam, formerly Bangkok Opera, is an opera company in Bangkok, Thailand. It presents an international opera repertoire, together with home-grown favorites.Fodor's Bangkok 25 Best', p. 90 (2015).
The company was founded in 2001, as a produc ...
. The "minimalist and bold" 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.
[Ruthven, Elizabeth 2009, "Thai opera's gentle and moving drama", the ''Mercury'', 27 March 2009] The premiere season was conducted by Tasmanian conductor
Michael Lampard
Michael Robert Garth Lampard (born March 1986) is an Australian opera singer, conductor and composer born in Hobart, Tasmania.
Education and early acclaim
Lampard undertook vocal study from a young age and acquired early notoriety as a boy sopra ...
.
References
External links
Stateline ABC Television, 27 March 2009
Mark Cutler: "The Lunchbox , IHOS Theatre" 29 March 2009, review at ''Australian Stage Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunch Box, The
Operas
Thai-language operas
2009 operas
Chamber operas
Operas by Thanapoom Sirichang
Operas set in Asia