Local-flavored 'Phantom of the Opera' at TIM

Ary Hermawan ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 07/03/2008 10:38 AM  |  Headlines

Mahagenta, an ethnic jazz group that tries to bring traditional Indonesian musical instruments into the contemporary music scene, will play songs from the famed musical Phantom of the Opera, by British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The performance, titled The Phantom of the *Traditional' Opera, will take place at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) arts center in Central Jakarta, on Thursday night.

The inclusion of the word "traditional" in the concert's title implies that the songs and the theatrical performance that accompanies the concert will feature traditional arrangements.

"This is one of the ways to show the public that our traditional musical instruments cannot be overlooked and underestimated. The instruments always inspire us to produce creative ideas," the group's music director, Henry "Uyung" Surya Panguji, said.

In the concert, Mahagenta will incorporate the rich musical traditions of the archipelago, including Javanese sinden (female singer), Balinese kecak dance and Acehnese chanting.

The mask worn by the phantom will be a traditional mask of Cirebon, and the fan dance when the song "Masquerade" is played will be a traditional local dance.

Uyung said Mahagenta will perform 12 of the 21 songs from the original musical.

"Some of the compositions are difficult to play," he said.

In the song "Angel of Music", which has three modulations, the group will use bonang, a piece from Javanese gamelan, and talempong, a small kettle gong from West Sumatra, which are both pentatonic or have only five notes.

A traditional Betawi song will be apparent in the song "Music of the Night" and the voice of a sinden will be heard in the song "Wishing You Were Here Somehow".

"The collaboration between gendang (traditional percussion instrument) and drums is difficult, but the players will try to make the mixed sounds of the two instruments 'moving and fresh,'" Uyung said.

The Phantom of the Opera, produced in 1986, has been seen in 124 cities in 25 countries, excluding Indonesia, and has become the most financially successful Broadway show in history with a total worldwide box office of more than US$3.2 billion. The musical was staged in Singapore last year, where it was seen by many Indonesians.

Mahagenta was formed on Nov. 11, 1996, and compare their music to a banana leaf, which was traditionally used to wrap foods.

To them, music is like food; no matter how diverse the instruments and the influences, the package is always the banana leaf, which symbolizes Indonesian culture.

Mahagenta
The Phantom of the 'Traditional' Opera
Graha Bhakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki
July 3 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: Rp 30,000 to Rp 75,000
Contact: Indri (021) 68131559/0817 640 1975

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