"TRAVIATA" TRIUMPHS

       The massed talents of Ekaterinburg do much to lift the rainy gloom
       Her Majesty the Queen's esteemed presence at "La Traviata", the opening show in the Bangkok International Festival of Dance and Music on September 7, boded well for an event now in its 11th year and still buoyant amid the economic and political gloom.
       The festival's latest marketing strategy seems to have paid off in better advance ticket sales and, on opening night, the house was nearly full as the Ekaterinburg Opera Theatre returned to Bangkok after two years.
       As Violetta, young soprano Natalia Starkova was the star of this memorable evening, blending her alluring voice with dextrous acting. It was a diva-esque performance effortlessly delivered by a non-diva, a rising star, something rarely seen in Bangkok.
       She was well supported and matched by the young tenor Dmytry Kuzmin, as Alfredo Germont, and the seasoned Yuri Devin, with great command of the role of Giorgio Germont.
       Additional delights resulted from the visual components, being the stage decor that, unlike many opera productions previously seen in the festival, smartly fit into the wide and tall frame of the threatre, and the costumes whose colours and designs were carefully honed.
       Most viewers would agree that "La Traviata" was indeed a fitting curtain raiser. And this was perhaps notwithstanding the fact that the same opera, by the same company with some cast differences, was already presented here - the kind of programming choices that raises doubts in a country where fewer than 10 opera productions are staged each year.
       Two evenings later, the same company's "Tosca" was, unfortunately, a slight letdown.
       It was not until the second act that I started to empathise with Ekaterina Neyzhmak's portrayal of the title character and Mikhail Vishniak's of Mario Cavaradossi, and that's just in time for their tragic end.
       Another odd artistic choice was Petr Tolstenko, as Baron Scapia, who was one of the stiffest villains I have witnessed on stage.
       Besides that, the set design was not intended for this larger theatre. I was informed later that the orchestra pit had been raised from where it was for "La Traviata", and this might explain why singing voices were drowned out during some key moments, due in part to our Cultural Centre's not-so-perfect acoustics.
       On Thursday it was rain - and the resulting traffic chaos - that prevented many people from arriving in time for the first part of the concert by Ekaterinburg Symphony Orchestra.
       Those who made it were treated to a musically enchanting evening of Brahms' "Symphony No 4" and Rachmaninov's "Symphony No 2", thanks in part to the strongly commanding and highly animated guest conductor Fabio Mastrangelo.
       As content as I was, I could not help comparing this experience to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's performance of Mahler's "Tragic Symphony" conducted by Bernard Haitink at the Hong Kong Arts Festival this past February.
       After all these years, I think Bangkok audiences are ready for, and entitled to, such an extraordinary programme.
       Now that the classical component from Eastern Europe is finished, the organiser - International Cultural Promotions - is set to take us into slightly more artistically challenging, aesthetically adventurous, and dramatically less predictable, routes.
       Coming up are more contemporary works, as already evident in teh Kiev Modern Ballet Theatre's "Carmen TV" and "La Forza del Destino" last week.

       COME RIDE A CLOUD
       - The International Festival of Dance and Music cointinues until October 17 at the Thailand Cultural Centre.
       - Tonight and tomorrow bring the Bangkok debut of Taiwan's renowned Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. Asia's most acclaimed choreographer, Lin Hwai-Min, will give a talk tomorrow afternoon.
       - For more details, visit www.BangkokFestivals.com or call (02) 204 2394.
       - Tickets are available at ThaiTicketMajor, and students can pick up free tickets one working day ahead of the shows at the Siam Cement Group Foundation.