Monday, March 15, 2004
Finally I could take time to de-stress!...for me and mummy dearest actually. I bought concert tickets for mum. She luvs him n I'm juz enchanted by him...oopss...his voice i mean! none other than the uprising local singer, Hazrul Nizam, wit dat soulful, enchanting voice. and not forgetting the forever-young 42-yr old Indonesian songbird, Dewi Yull.
The venue: Esplanade Concert Hall! Yippee...we were so excited!
It is a joint project between Spore Chinese Orchestra and a Malay event organiser, IMG Productions. It's called Nanyang Musical Voyage II. That's a first!..for SCO to play
Malay songs for a full concert. The common malay musical instruments were replaced with erhu (which I realise meant 2-strings), pipa, gaohu n others. The show also includes dance items by Sriwana (the younger lot). The choreographer is a veteran, Mr Salleh Buang. It's a 90-min show hosted by Suhaimi Yusof.
Anyway, there was a heavy downpour yest, with constant thunder and lightning. Good instincts mum! cos she insisted on taking da cab. I told the driver that we wanted to go to Esplanade. He merely nodded...before turning to BKE, he asked "Mana?!" He couldnt get wat I was trying to say until I had to describe da Esplanade as "Durian." Well, he finally got it!
We strolled to the entrance of the concert hall...my mum was totally amazed by the "Durian". Her 1st time there, guess shd ask her to take more rest days away fr the stall n home. The show was supposed to start at 8pm, but was slightly delayed abt 10mins.
Before entering, each person has to have their bags checked..and of course, no cameras or any sort of recordings allowed. The staff at Esplanade r all professional and helpful. My tickets indicated Row A, so we were going twds da 1st row, when one of da male staff realised that there was a typo error. My heart panicked!dun tell me I have to sit behind or somewhere far fr da stage.
I felt a huge relief wen he said "it's supposed to be Box A." Wow!!! It was right at the side, n perfect view of da whole orchestra! n of course, da talented singers. It's very Shakesperian. Heehee...most importantly,my mum was beaming!
Those who turned up includes caucasians, indonesians, indians, and chinese. some MPs were also at the event, spending quality time with their spouse.
Anyway, the 1st piece was entitled Fantasy. Amazing! It was such an emotional piece. The best part came wen Hazrul Nizam appeared to sing his ever-popular song "Kaulah Segalanya". I juz cant wait! He's so charming in his white attire. And his smile...i think my mum was mesmerized by dat!
While he was singing, my mum jokingly asked me to wave at him. Of course, I said NO WAY! Coincidentally, he turned to face at us seconds after da brief conversation with mum. And my mum, to my surprise (or not), waved at him. Embarassed (and blushing), by mum's spontaneity, I juz smiled and covered my eyes.
When I looked up, he was giggling at me and wave again. Sigh...that cute smile!
Ok...enuff of Hazrul. Dewi Yull's appearance was after the 20-min intermission. She came in barefooted, singing an Aceh and Jawa traditional song, a way of greeting. And she sang w/o any microphone...but her voice filled the hall clearly. Powerful!
Dewi Yull n Hazrul sang duets..evergreen songs which were once popularised by the late Broery Marantika and herself. Kini Baru Kau Rasa, Jgn Ada Dusta Antara Kita,etc.
The Sriwana dancers were great! Certainly young and talented...seems like Malay traditional dance has taken another step into adding more creativity and story into their performances.
Bravo! Bravo!
It was certainly a delightful after-dinner treat for both of us!
naniz @ 12:05:00 AM