I

t was right after fast-breaking and the mid-week traffic was crawling in the country’s capital.

The Dharmawangsa Hotel in South Jakarta, however, was tucked slightly away from the city’s congestion-induced furrowed mood.

Outside the hotel’s ballroom, figures in glimmering gowns and immaculate suits sashayed about, some fluttering inquiries and peals of laughter, some calmly standing in corners.

In a few hours, the 2011 CIMB Niaga Opera Gala was scheduled to begin.

The opera’s lineup included a number of established names: world-class Indonesian piano player Ananda Sukarlan, famed flautist Andrea Griminelli and baritone Massimo Di Stefano from Italy and Indonesian soprano Aning Katamsi, to name a few.

Erza ST, the founder of the Indonesia Opera Society, said the event was part of a CIMB Niaga program to promote its image as catering to the exclusive, especially their preferred and world-class clients.

“This is the first opera gala dinner complete with an orchestra and a choir [in Indonesia],” he said before the event.

The Indonesia Opera Society was established in 2006. According to Erza, he has been holding opera events every year.

“Our mission is to promote opera as a part of the face of Indonesia’s art and culture,” he said.

According to the website of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, opera has its roots in the extravagant entertainment in royal circles in 17th century Italy and France.

Monteverdi’s Orfeo, first performed in Mantua, Italy, in 1607, is considered the first recognizable form of opera, although arguably Dafne by Jacobo Peri in 1597 also bore the traits of an opera.

The entertainment then gained popularity in various other parts of Europe, including England. In 1637, the first public opera house was opened in Venice: the Teatro San Cassiano.

Legendary composers Mozart and Handel are among those noted for their operatic works.

Operas are now staged in various parts of the world, and a number of opera societies have sprouted to support the art form.

According to Erza, opera-related activities in Indonesia have been occurring since the 1960s, but it was only within the last few years that they increased in terms of enthusiasm.

“Nowadays people can travel more, and they have become more exposed to entertainments like these … the demand [for opera] is high now,” he said.

Erza added that the high cost of staging operas was partly the reason behind the limited amount of opera enthusiasts in the country.

Jetty Sedyawan, a cardiologist, said during the opera gala’s cocktail hour that she was invited to the event because she was one of those customers. “We need things like this: music, soprano voices … things that are new and outside the routine,” she said.

She said that she almost always attends such events. “I am waiting for Ananda Sukarlan. I am a fan of his.”

Another guest, Olivia, said she was given access to the event because she won a pass from the Indonesia Opera Society in a Twitter contest. “I have always liked classical music,” she said.

Olivia, who just entered university, added that she usually quenched her thirst for classical music by watching shows at foreign cultural centers such as the Netherlands’ Erasmus Huis in Jakarta, or by getting free passes from a relative who is a reporter.

After the cocktail hour and a three-course dinner, the lights dimmed for the show.

The Opera Gala featured well-known pieces from various operas instead of a full performance. Up first in the program was an energetic number from Rossini: the galloping “William Tell Overture” performed by the Jakarta Concert Orchestra and conducted by Avip Priatna. This was followed by the passionate “Quando Men Vo” by Puccini, performed by noted soprano diva Binu Sukarman.

The next Puccini number – “Un Bel Di Vedremo” from the Madame Butterfly – was delivered elegantly by another famed Indonesian soprano, Aning Katamsi.

Local tenor Christopher Abimanyu and the Batavia Madrigal Singers performed another number from Puccini, “Nesun Dorma”.

A more dynamic and playful work by Strauss Junior, “Mein Herr Marquee”, performed by clear-voiced soprano Linda Sitinjak, followed.

Up next was the harmonious duo of Aning and Binu. Performing “Sous le Dome Epais” by Delibes, Binu’s brazen voice grew with Aning’s slightly more subdued yet sweet tunes like two vines slowly enveloping the audience’s senses.

Di Stefano did the flamboyant “Largo al Factotum” (from Il Barbiere di Siviglia) justice, if not beyond. His interactive performance – at one time he walked among the audience – as the always-busy, always sought after barber brought a fresh, festive air to the event.

Up next was probably one of the favorites of the night. The audience giggled as Binu and Linda meowed their way through the coy “Duetto Buffo di due Gatti” (Humorous Duet for Two Cats) by Rossini. Ananda, who played the piano, gave an extra playfulness by feigning slight annoyance towards the “cats”.

Ananda took the audience by storm next when he performed his latest piece “Fons Juventatis”. The work, imbued with Balinese notes, started off with strong chords – referred to by Ananda later as representing the gush of water in a fountain – and progressed into the jovial, youthful mood it conveyed.

“I couldn’t take my eyes off [Ananda’s performance],” an audience member said.

Flautist Griminelli delivered an enchanting and skillful performance as his fingers danced their way through “Carmen Suite Fantasy” by Bizet. He returned later to the stage to perform “Czarda” by Monti.

Two numbers by Verdi: “Va Pensiero” performed by the Batavia Madrigal Singers and “Sempre Libera” performed by Aning, Binu and Linda were next.

Another Verdi, “Bella Figilia d’ell Amore” from Rigoletto, was the official closing number of the night, but then the stars returned, champagne glasses in hands, to perform another work by the composer: the celebrative “Libiamo ne’lieti calici” (Champagne Song) from La Traviata.

The audience, with several members having a good time with drinks of their own, gave a standing ovation at the end of the show. “It was fun,” Olivia said.

However, a few glitches failed to get by alert ears. “The orchestra had trouble following the songs sometimes, especially during [Ananda’s] ‘Fons Juventatis’,” one audience member said.