Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Butterfly Lovers surface in Genting

IF you’re in Genting Highlands next month then you have the chance of catching an all-time favourite classical love story, Butterfly Lovers, presented by the well-known Dama Orchestra.

The musical will be staged in the Genting International Showroom at Genting Hotel from April 13-15 and April 20-22.

Performed in Mandarin and narrated in English, it is a popular Chinese legend of two star-crossed lovers, comparable to William Shakespeare’s Romeo And Juliet.

The story is set in third Century China, and revolves around intelligent and independent Yingtai, who goes against male chauvinist tradition.

Yingtai, who loves to read, disguises herself as a boy in order to study in college. There, she meets Sanbo, who thinks she is a boy, and becomes her best friend. As their friendship blossoms, she slowly falls in love with him.

Sanbo eventually knows the truth about Yingtai, but sadly, her father forces her to marry another man from her village.

The tragic love story was made into a Shaw Brothers film in 1962 starring Ivy Ling Po. It even became a popular Bangsawan play titled Sam Pek Eng Tai, and the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee performed a hit song of the same name, based on the play.

The orchestra is led by musical director Khor Seng Chew. It has performed not only traditional and classical Chinese music, but also Malaysian and Western tunes.

Its musicians have performed in international music festivals such as WOMAD, Rainforest World Music Festival and Silk And Bamboo Music Festival. The orchestra has also performed alongside Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Among the venues which have seen the orchestra perform are Putra World Trade Centre and Istana Budaya in Kuala Lumpur, Majestic Theatre of Shanghai in China and Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore.

Dama has three recordings to its credit. Its first album Spring Kisses Lovers’ Tears was touted as “Malaysia’s first audiophile CD” while the second album Scent Of Autumn Rain was released to critical acclaim.

The orchestra has also produced a third CD album Fragrance Of The Night and a DVD recording, Memories.

Tickets: RM120, RM150 and RM180. Genting World Card members are entitled to a 20 per cent discount. Time: 8pm (April 13, 14, 20 and 21) and 3pm (April 15 and 22). There will be no admission for infants and children below three.

Children aged three and above must buy tickets for admission. Call 03-2718-1118.


Source : NST
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