SFGate
Ker Munthit, Associated Press
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Phnom Penh, Cambodia -- Cambodia's first rock opera will premiere in Phnom Penh next month, a cultural milestone in the Southeast Asian country where performing arts were banned during the brutal Khmer Rouge years.
"Where Elephants Weep" is an East-meets-West blend of traditional Cambodian music and Western rock that is modeled after "Romeo and Juliet" and inspired by the Broadway musical "Rent."
Organizers say the show will open a 10-day run Nov. 28 in a converted movie theater in the capital, Phnom Penh, a year later than its planned premiere at the end of 2007.
The show was commissioned by Cambodian Living Arts, a project of the Boston nonprofit organization World Education, which seeks to revive traditional Cambodian performing arts and inspire contemporary artistic expression among Cambodians.
Charley Todd, a co-president of the arts group's governing board, said the opera had a successful preview last year in Lowell, Mass., which has a sizable community of Cambodian refugees. But producers needed extra time for fine-tuning.
It is expected to tour in other countries, including the United States, South Korea and Singapore.
Arts and entertainment were banned when the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and killed roughly 1.7 million people through starvation, disease, overwork and execution. Execution sites from the time now serve as grim tourist attractions.
"Where Elephants Weep" is an operatic take on "Tum Teav," the Cambodian version of "Romeo and Juliet."
It tells the story of a Cambodian American who lost his father during the Khmer Rouge era and returns home after Cambodia's civil war to trace his roots. In Phnom Penh, he meets and falls in love with a Cambodian woman who works as a karaoke singer.
The music was composed by the Russian-trained Cambodian maestro Him Sophy. He was inspired by the rock opera "Rent," which he saw twice in New York City.
Cambodian musicians in the performance use electric guitars, electronic drums, keyboards and traditional instruments such as buffalo horns, bamboo flutes, gongs and the chapei, a long-necked lute with two nylon strings.
After seven years of work, Sophy said he expected a celebration - both onstage and in the country.
"It is going to be a big national cultural event," Sophy said. "And the entire team is committed to making it happen flawlessly and perfectly."
Ker Munthit, Associated Press
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Phnom Penh, Cambodia -- Cambodia's first rock opera will premiere in Phnom Penh next month, a cultural milestone in the Southeast Asian country where performing arts were banned during the brutal Khmer Rouge years.
"Where Elephants Weep" is an East-meets-West blend of traditional Cambodian music and Western rock that is modeled after "Romeo and Juliet" and inspired by the Broadway musical "Rent."
Organizers say the show will open a 10-day run Nov. 28 in a converted movie theater in the capital, Phnom Penh, a year later than its planned premiere at the end of 2007.
The show was commissioned by Cambodian Living Arts, a project of the Boston nonprofit organization World Education, which seeks to revive traditional Cambodian performing arts and inspire contemporary artistic expression among Cambodians.
Charley Todd, a co-president of the arts group's governing board, said the opera had a successful preview last year in Lowell, Mass., which has a sizable community of Cambodian refugees. But producers needed extra time for fine-tuning.
It is expected to tour in other countries, including the United States, South Korea and Singapore.
Arts and entertainment were banned when the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and killed roughly 1.7 million people through starvation, disease, overwork and execution. Execution sites from the time now serve as grim tourist attractions.
"Where Elephants Weep" is an operatic take on "Tum Teav," the Cambodian version of "Romeo and Juliet."
It tells the story of a Cambodian American who lost his father during the Khmer Rouge era and returns home after Cambodia's civil war to trace his roots. In Phnom Penh, he meets and falls in love with a Cambodian woman who works as a karaoke singer.
The music was composed by the Russian-trained Cambodian maestro Him Sophy. He was inspired by the rock opera "Rent," which he saw twice in New York City.
Cambodian musicians in the performance use electric guitars, electronic drums, keyboards and traditional instruments such as buffalo horns, bamboo flutes, gongs and the chapei, a long-necked lute with two nylon strings.
After seven years of work, Sophy said he expected a celebration - both onstage and in the country.
"It is going to be a big national cultural event," Sophy said. "And the entire team is committed to making it happen flawlessly and perfectly."
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