Musicians' Initiative presents a Full-Staged Opera Double Bill - featuring Menotti's The Telephone and the premiere of an abridged version of Puccini's La Bohème, arranged by Melvin Tay.
The Telephone is a comic opera in one act by Menotti, that tells the tale of Ben visiting Lucy with the hope of proposing to her before his trip. However, despite his attempts to get her attention, she is always distracted by conversations on the telephone. Although first premiered in 1947, this conflict of technology bringing us closer yet also ironically pushing us apart is still so pertinent today. In this light-hearted tale, we will explore our relationship with technology by using technology (ha!) such as mobile phones to reimagine a setting that is relevant to today.
An abridged version of Puccini’s crowd pulling opera, La Bohème focuses on the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimi, ending with her death as she is slowly consumed by a deadly illness. This story traverses prominent themes that have been timeless throughout history; the fundamental aspects of human relationship: falling in love, falling out of love, and dealing with loss and death.
Melvin Tay leads the Musicians' Initiative with soloists Teng Xiang Ting, Jonathan Charles Tay, Felicia Teo, Martin Ng and Reuben Lai!
