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Wayang show, orchestra concert for a virus-safe weekend
Stroll down memory lane, enjoy Javanese theater comfortably at home this weekend.
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Play it right: The Wayang Orang Bharata troupe will return with 'Gatutkaca Rajah' over the weekend on YouTube. The Jakarta-based troupe has continued to perform online amid the pandemic. (Courtesy of Shutterstock/-)
W
eekend shows featuring the Wayang Orang Bharata troupe and Jakarta Concert Orchestra promise quality entertainment from the comfort of your home.
The fans of Javanese traditional theater wayang orang will have their thirst quenched this weekend with the streaming of Gatutkaca Rajah, produced by the most popular Jakarta-based troupe, Wayang Orang Bharata.
Wayang orang is a Javanese operatic dance theater that traditionally presents dramas adapted from the Mahabharata and the Ramayana epics.
The show is usually performed in an informal setting, where the audience sits or reclines on the floor before a low stage to watch the hours-long show.
This weekend, the action-packed wayang show is available on Dec. 19 to 20 on YouTube channel IndonesiaKaya starting from 3 p.m.
“Wayang orang is a traditional art that combines dance, theater, music and fine art. The stories are based on the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics that teach us life philosophy, ethics and character-building,” said Teguh “Kenthus” Ampiranto, the troupe’s second-in-command, in a press release.
“I hope the show educates art enthusiasts, hopefully, the younger generation, about the characters and the stories in the wayang realm for this art to sustain.”
The story revolves around the young Gatotkaca, who receives Rajah Narantaka, a powerful magic incantation that requires the holder to stay humble and not to misuse the power.
The online show is part of the #NontonTeaterDiRumahAja (Watch a play at home) program by the Bakti Budaya Djarum Foundation, initiated at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has posted more than 70 performance art videos and attracted more than 1 million viewers on its website and YouTube channel.
Another way to spend your weekend evening at home is to attend the Holiday Concert 2020, an orchestra concert that will take audiences down memory lane of the 1990s.
Jakarta Concert Orchestra, with conductor Avip Priatna, presents iconic songs by Britney Spears, Celine Dion, New Kids on the Block, Spice Girls, Bryan Adams, Mariah Carey and more.
The “time-slip” show features the Batavia Madrigal Singers, The Resonanz Children’s Choir, the latter’s group of flutists and alumni, as well as soloists Farman Purnama, Alin Christelisa Pontoh, Jessica Bunga, Mozart Leon, Yemima Madeleine, Andhyka Novico Kasamelka, Bimo Mahardika, Nobel Telaumbanua and Theodorus F. Wairata.
“We picked music from the 90s because of its aesthetic senses and rich variation of music genres that have succeeded in becoming the most memorable songs,” said Avip, expressing hope that the concert would close the year with a new spirit to start the new year.
The concert will be held on the orchestra’s site, jcodigitalconcerthall.com, on Saturday starting at 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 4 p.m. Call 0821 808 30003 or email ticketing@theresonanz.com to book a ticket.(ste)
