TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results‘Hikayat Nusantara’: When theatrical legends come alive
A spectacular fusion of Indonesian heritage and Broadway-style grandeur, the production dazzled the audience with 1,500 performers, lavish costumes and timeless folktales retold for a new generation.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Goddess in green: Singer Yura Yunita descends from the ceiling of the Indonesia Arena on a sling while performing "Mahadewi" on Aug. 23, 2025, during Pagelaran Sabang Merauke (the Indonesian Broadway) show titled Hikayat Nusantara at Gelora Bung Karno in Senayan, Central Jakarta. The soaring rendition became one of the night’s defining moments. (Courtesy of Pagelaran Sabang Merauke) (Pagelaran Sabang Merauke/-)
A
goddess descended from the rafters of the Indonesia Arena at Gelora Bung Karno complex in Central Jakarta, wrapped in silk that trailed for meters like rolling waves of emerald. The crowd gasped, then thundered with applause as singer Yura Yunita floated gracefully from the ceiling.
Suspended on a sling, she belted out “Mahadewi” with pop-rock veterans Padi Reborn, her voice carried by the Jakarta Concert Orchestra and framed by dancers in Yogyakarta-inspired costumes.
It was a moment of spectacle that set the tone for the night, and for many, the defining highlight of Hikayat Nusantara (Indonesian folktales), the sixth edition of the Pagelaran Sabang Merauke (the Indonesian Broadway).
“I’m a fan of sports involving heights, like paragliding, so singing while being lowered wasn’t difficult,” Yura later admitted, laughing. The audience saw none of the effort, only an ethereal performance that seemed to blur myth and music.
Over the course of the evening, she sang five songs, from Husein Mutahar’s “Syukur” to regional favorites like “Injit-injit Semut”, “Pak Pung Pak Mustafe” and “Inspirasi Diri”.
The wider repertoire was as sweeping as the archipelago itself, with 31 songs ranging from Aceh’s “Bungong Jeumpa”, North Sumatra’s “Butet”, Bali’s “Putri Cening Ayu” and Papua’s “Sajojo”, to national anthems like “Nusantara”.
The night ended in a stirring crescendo with “Lantunan Satu Bangsa”, performed by all vocalists together, underscoring a triumphant theme of unity.
