PUCCINI 150

Puccini 150

A Gala Concert in celebration of Puccini's Birth-year

Presented by The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Choir

Sponsored by The MUI Group

Supported by The Embassy of Italy

Date : 28th August, 2008
Time : 8pm
Venue : The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall
No 1, Jalan Maharajalela Kuala Lumpur
Tickets : RM50/RM70
Ticket Hotline : 012-661 7654 (Monday to Saturday 10am - 5pm)



2008 marks the 150th birth anniversary of the renowned Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini, whose operas have long been regarded as the most popular in the repertoire and are frequently performed in opera houses around the world.
To commemorate this anniversary, Artists Platform is presenting a concert dedicated to the heroines of Puccini, who mesmerize audiences with their heart-rending vulnerability. In all of Puccini’s operas, these frail creatures live with all their hearts for love and die tragically through illness (Mimi, Manon), heartbreak (Anna) or suicide (Butterfly, Tosca, Liu and Sister Angelica).
The concert programme comprises arias and scenes from Puccini's operas such as Le Villi, Manon Lescaut , La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, La Rondine and Turandot. The roles of the heroines will be performed by sopranos Li Hong, Vivian Li, Tan Khar Gee, Ang Mei Foong and an ensemble of female voices, all accompanied on the piano by Kok-Ting Chong.

Concert Programme

Se come voi – Le Villi
Ancora un passo– Madama Butterfly
Un bel di – Madama Butterfly
Si mi chiamano Mimi – La Boheme
Donde lieta – La Boheme
Quando men’vo – La boheme

Interval

Vissi d’arte – Tosca
In quelle trine morbide – Manon Lescaut
Chi il bel sogno di Doretta - La Rondine
Signore ascolta – Turandot
Tu che di gel sei cinta – Turandot
Senza mamma and scena - Suor Angelica
O mio babbino caro – Gianni Schicchi

Soprano
Li Hong
Vivian Li
Tan Khar Gee
Ang Mei Fong

Female vocal ensemble
Tan Kai Jong,
Chan Nyim,
Wong Poh Ming
Tan Hong Peng
Chua Pih Siang
Loong Yoke Kum
Grace Low Kwee Chin
Chiew Sheau Fwu
Lee Yee Wee

Pianist
Kok-Ting Chong

Orchestrator
Ng Chor Guan


A lyric soprano with a sound technique and beautiful high notes, Li Hong was graduated from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. She has performed extensively around China and most recently in America and Poland. A winner of several singing competitions, she has worked with Professor Lu Hui Juan (Germany), Rao Yu Jian (Shanghai Opera House), Linda Brice and Richard Poppino (America). In 2007 she made her debut as Tosca with the Sichuan Conservatory of Music.

Vivian Li holds a BA Degree in Traditional Chinese Vocal Music from the Harbin University before graduating in 2007 at the NanYang Academy of Fine Arts Singapore. An avid competition participant since young, she has won many competitions including the prestigious Hei Long Jiang Singing Competition and the Chinese Winter Dream Young Singer Singing Competition
Since residing in Singapore, she has performed at the Esplanade Concourse, Victoria Concert Hall and the Lee Foundation Theater. She made her debut with Bangkok opera in 2007 singing the role of Gerhilde in Wagner’s Die Walküre

Homegrown coloratura soprano, Tan Khar Gee was a graduate of the Malaysian Institute of Arts before obtaining her Masters Degree at the Conservatory of China, Beijing. Subsequently she left for Italy to further her studies at the Accademia Lirica Italiana under the tutelage of Maestro Pier Miranda Ferraro and the renowned repetiteur Maestro Roberto Negri, both from the famous opera house Teatro Alla Scala, Milano. In Italy, she actively participated and represented the conservatory in major performances and received excellent reviews from the press. Consequently, she was awarded the Young Vocalist and Artist Certificate.
Since her return to the country in 2004, she has given many recitals in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China to great acclaim.

Born in Kuala Lumpur, soprano Ang Mei Foong started her musical training as a pianist. After obtaining her Bachelor degree from the National Taiwan Normal University, she furthered her studies at the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia Roma under the guidance of Maestra Rebecca Berg. Subsequently she received a full scholarship to pursue her Master’s at the University of Melbourne. In Melbourne, she studied with Merlyn Quaife.
An active recitalist, Mei Foong has performed in Malaysia, Taiwan, and Australia.


Reproduced by permission from http://artistsplatform.blogspot.com/