Arts

Love changes everything:

Performance studded with talents

Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

Perhaps, the singular characteristic which made 'Love Changes Everything' was the amalgam of ballet techniques, live music scores and the elements of performance. In fact, the plot of the play is woven around four characters with universal applicability. Maria is a daughter of a rich merchant.

Although she has every material comfort at her disposal, she does not have the warmth and affection and like incarcerated princess, longs for her soul mate. Antonio, who is crushed with poverty and the breadwinner of the family with a sister and old parents, harbours affection for Maria.

Antonio born under poorer circumstances is the bread winner of his family of one sister and elderly parents; a hard and gruelling life has made him into a strong young lad who harbours affections for Maria the rich merchant's daughter.

Ronya Antonio's one and only sister always puts everyone else around her first, she is the silent listener who gives sound advice to anyone who needs it.

And then there is Zimmi, a tribal orphan girl from a distant land. One can say that she is different, a raw and passionate character who secretly loves her best friend's brother Antonio.

The story commences with the four characters begin introduced by a Narrator, and then blossoms into love story.

It represents how love affects four characters in somewhat the same way.

Love brings joy, heartache and selflessness, as the story progresses Antonio is beckoned to be a soldier of war, Maria is heart broken and Ronya comforts her while Zimmi suffers silently, but in the end they all find hope that everything will be fine and miracles indeed do come true if you believe.

Although there were constrains in terms of regular disturbances in the sound system, it did not greatly affect the principle zest of the ballet opera.

The main characters of the ballet-opera was depicted in a realistic manner by Antonio (Wasantha Geekiyanage), Maria (Hiruni Ralapanawe), Zimmi (Udeshika Samarathunga), Ronya (Ganga Abeynayake) and Narrator (Manoj Sanjeewa).

Among other things, it was the combination of music, dance and theatre which made the performance a resounding success.

Given the short period of time the students spent on the production and their background, it was a commendable production from the Department of Western Music in the University of Visual and Performing Arts.

Emerging Artistes Program:

Louis Page Jr. with the CMSC

The Colombo Chamber of Music will feature Louis Page Jr. as the artist for the 2008/2009 in the program `Emerging Artiste' of the Chamber Music Society of Colombo in a concert to be held on May 12 at the Russian Cultural Centre, Colombo.

The concert will showcase his chamber music collaborating skills with the principal players of the CMSC ensemble. The program will include the piano quartet and trios of Mozart and Niels Gade, both of which will feature Page on the piano. In collaborating with Lakshman Joseph de Saram (violin), Dushyanthi Perera (cello) and Shogo Kanamori (viola), the young artiste will be privileged to share the stage with some of the most sought-after and progressive classical musicians in the country.

The Chamber Music Society of Colombo has in a relatively short time earned a reputation for delivering some of the most polished and thought provoking concert programs in Sri Lanka's classical music arena. A lesser known aspect of the Society's mission is to assist gifted new musicians along the path to a meaningful career in the performing arts. Known as the Society's *Emerging Artistes Program*, this initiative is aimed at enhancing the creative growth of dedicated new artistes, and helping connect this next generation of concert performer with discerning audiences. It involves an undertaking to provide careful mentoring plus opportunities, to the emerging artiste, for solo recitals and performances in collaboration with established musicians.After a successful solo recital in Colombo last year, Page embarked on a full schedule of teaching at the Yamaha School of Music in Singapore.

He studied music and finetuned his skills as a performer in the United States, where he graduated from the California Institute of Arts in 2006 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Piano Performance. Before that, he followed Performance Workshop sessions at the Los Angeles Valley College. Page has performed solo recitals in Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Sri Lanka, and played with the Los Angeles Junior Philharmonic Orchestra.

The CMSC's Emerging Artistes Program seeks out gifted musicians who can benefit from association with the Society and its players, their vibrant interaction, and the dynamic created between themselves and their audiences.

Those who fit the profile would be young musicians who have spent most of their lives honing their musical and technical skills, and have now reached a point where they are endowed with the considerable discipline and proficiency it takes to undertake a live performance career, at national and international levels.

Mostly Mozart by SOSL

Fresh from their memorable Verdi Requiem, the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka has another concert free of charge for music-lovers shortly, with a delightful program - "Mostly Mozart" at Ladies' College Hall on Saturday May 16, at 7 p.m. This special concert is funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy. Reserved as well as unreserved seats are available.

The concert will begin with J.S. Bach's famous 'Air on the G String' from his Orchestral Suite No.3 - one of his most moving and noble melodies, much appropriated by contemporary pop composers.The main work is Mozart's beautiful, at times sublime, Sinfonia concertante, a late eighteenth century title given to a marriage of the symphony and concerto. In this work no less than four wind soloists perform with the orchestra - Oboe, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon. The soloists are all principal players of the Symphony Orchestra and founder members of the Colombo Wind Quintet: Hasitha Pathirana - Oboe, Ajit Abeysekera - Clarinet, Manilal Weerakoon - Horn and Nalaka Perera - Bassoon.

Norway Wind Soloists

The Sinfonia concertante begins with an extended orchestral introduction, after which the solo wind quartet is presented as they might be in a classical concerto, with passages uniquely suited to their instrument's sonorities and capabilities. The second movement is a graceful adagio - music of elegance and refinement. After an orchestral introduction, the quartet takes over, blending solos and ensemble in a variety of beautiful colours. The last movement is a set of variations on a theme stated by the oboe, and each variation features one or two instruments answered by the full quartet. A lighthearted coda brings the work to a close.

Immediately after the interval, the orchestra will perform the pioneering American composer Terry Riley's `Half-Wolf Dances Mad in Moonlight' from his `Salome Dances for Peace' which is based largely on Native-American mythology. This unusual and wildly energetic work was suggested to SOSL by the evening's young conductor Eshantha J. Peiris, who earned his Master's degree in Music Performance and Composition from New York University.The concert will conclude with four lovely works sung with orchestra by Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu, Soprano, a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music and a well known recitalist. The most memorable of the four is probably Mozart's hugely demanding and stormy `Queen of the Night Aria' from The Magic Flute. This is contrasted with Leo Delibes' charmingly light hearted and lyrical song `Les Filles de Cadiz', the Norwegian Edvard Grieg's hauntingly beautiful `Solvejg's Song' from Peer Gynt, and Donizetti's `O Luce di Quest'Anima' a delightful showpiece for coloratura agility from his opera Linda di Chamounix.

There is no charge for the tickets which are available on a first come first served basis from the SOSL, Upstair Floor, 83 Dickman's Road, Colombo 5.

The Box Office is open on weekdays 9-6.30 p.m. and on Saturdays 9.30-1 p.m.

Hamlet at Elsie's Bar:

Full of wit, glamour and excellence in performance

Ranga CHANDRARATHNE

With the talented cast, striking set and equally apt music, Feroz recreates Mark Eaden and Fazer Hoesh famed comedy Hamlet at Elsie's Bar as one of the best productions to come on English theatre in Sri Lanka. Excelled in diverse aspects, the play marks an important milestone in contemporary English theatre in Sri Lanka, giving birth to new generation of actors actresses and an audience which would sustain in the long run, truly a Sri Lankan English theatre with distinction.

Hamlet at Elsie's Bar, which was recently staged at Lionel Wendt theatre and produced by Feroz Kaladeen, demonstrated in no uncertain terms that Sri Lankan theatre in English is very much alive and second to none in terms of its high quality productions. Hamlet at Elsie's Bar, a comedy by Mark Eaden and Fazer Hoesh is woven around a popular bar `Elsie's Bar' where, according to the play, Shakespeare made his play Hamlet and the bar is haunted by people from all walks of life including poets, playwrights and lovers.

"My favourite haunt was a drinking hole, called Elsie's Bar way down Norr Road.

That place was full of incidents, some love affairs, some accidents.

Some people killed and some who died, some who laughed and some who cried.

I found my muse at Elsie's bar and wrote Hamlet the Prince of Denmark. This fascinating story you will now witness Through a flashback no more no less! On with the show sets the stage for the play by Shakespeare, a character in the play. The comedy takes its course with loads of humour, wit and full of merriment spelling the back drop against which the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet was made. In a twist of events, the play indicates that the Elsie's Bar owner's brother Claude kills the owner Osric and marries his wife Ophelia.

As in the Hamlet, a mock play is enacted in the Bar to find out the culprit. Layertees who is in love with Horatio wants to marry him as soon as possible. However, Rosie Crantz and Gilda Stern, the waitresses of the Bar plot to break the affair. Unlike in the Hamlet, here the play ends with the death of Claude and Shakespeare making the tragedy of Hamlet. JD- Rosencratnz died and so did his friend Gilderstern who met with an untimely end.

Shakespeare -The list of the folk Who die in this play is so very long there's not much more to say With the above lines the play concludes. From the very beginning to the end, Elsie's Bar was attention-grabbing and full of wit. Almost all the cast, it seems had done their home work well and enacted the play to a continuous applause from the audience.

A significant aspect of the play was that Feroz had utilised the impressive lighting, the near natural sound system and the set to make the ambience of a busy English bar which is frequented by poets, playwrights and people from all walks of life. Actors and actresses made it really a cheerful bar while performing allotted acts to represent diverse strata of the society. For instance, while Shakespeare and poet Donne engaged in a live conversation, the rest of the cast who were paired out, performed different acts; some were embraced in love while others were merrily chatting.

Striking set

The ambience of an English Bar with intricate details was recreated in the realistic set. The set resembled a profile of a bar which was opened to the audience. On the upstairs of the wooden cottage-like structure lives the crew of the Elsie Bar including its owner. Apart from the striking set, Elsie's Bar was marked for its remarkable costume designed which not only represented the socio-economic background of the characters but also the time they lived in.

It seems that the costume designer had studied the medieval English life and the attire typified of that era. An important feature of the production was that the director had been able to derive maximum out of the resources at his disposal.

For instance, live music scores and the lighting have been well manipulated to set the mood right and in a manner increasing the zest of the play.

Hamlet at Elsie's Bar is a play that Sri Lankan theatre goers should not have miss out as it was really a wonderful production.