Mexico, Slovakia celebrate National Days in Style
Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta

Mexican ambassador Federico Salas Lotfe welcomed guests to his residence on Sep. 16 to celebrate Grito de Delores, or the Cry of Delores, marking the start of Mexico’s independence war in 1810. Guests were given traditional bandanas, which they wore over lounge suits, batik and jilbabs, sipping tequila and dancing to the lively band playing a variety of traditional songs.

Festivities continued on Sep. 19, when Ambassador Michal Slivovic welcomed crowds to the Dua Mutiara ballroom of the JW Marriott Jakarta hotel for a high-energy observation of the National Day of Slovakia. An orchestra and dancers from Lúčnica, the Slovak National Folk Ballet, clad in traditional peasant dress, took over the floor for almost an hour, for thrilled guests, who sipped slivovitz, the fruit brandy with which the ambassador shares a name, and dined on Slovak cuisine.

After opera gala, singers give encores
Various locations, South Jakarta

Following the Indonesia Opera Society’s gala, several performers stayed on in the capital for encores. The Georgian Tamta Tarieli, a former refugee turned talented mezzo-soprano, performed at the residence of Ambassador Zurab Aleksidze, who offered guests a selection of delicious Georgian wines and the nation’s famous chacha grappa–and who joined his wife to sing for the crowd, accompanied by Tarieli on piano. Separately, the Erasmus Huis presented a master’s class with baritone Tim Kuypers, along with a concert with Ananda Sukarlan; while the Philippine embassy presented an evening of song with the soprano Anna Dinna Migallos, also at the Erasmus Huis, on Sep. 10. Bravo!

Indonesia Opera Society marks 10th year with gala
The Dharmawangsa, South Jakarta

Under the direction of impressario Erza S.T., the Indonesian Opera Society, which he founded, put on a gala performance at The Dharmawangsa to mark its 10th iteration.

Following a dinner realized in vegetarian, meat and fish options by chefs Petty Elliott, Gilles Marx and Felix Budisetiawan respectively¬–and a cocktail hour serving Johnie Walker Blue Label scotch whiskey in artistically designed bottles curated by ISA Art Advisory– the city’s opera lovers enjoyed a performance of Rossini, Verdi, Bizet, Mozart and more.

The 10 assembled sopranos, mezzo-sopranos, tenors, baritones and bassists hailed from Armenia, Belgium, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Spain and Sweden. Meanwhile conductor Hikotaro Yazaki from Japan led the Nusantara Symphony Orchestra, which featured the renowned composer Ananda Sukarlan performing his Fantasia Selendang Sutra.

SOFITEL NUSA DUA EXHIBITS MADE WIANTA’S CALLIGRAPHY
Sofitel hotels and resorts Nusa Dua lobby area

This exhibition showcases the versatile talent of Made Wianta. He creates art installations, composes music, paints, performs and writes. His calligraphy is inspired by Japanese kanji and Chinese characters. His artwork has been exhibited in prominent galleries and art museums worldwide, such as the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003, the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma in 2011 and the Singapore Art Museum last year.