Before KLCO was KLCO, we were formally known as The Eat, Sing & Travel People company, and our very first production was Carmen in Blackbox, MAP KL Publika in 2013! Now in 2022 after another decade, under KL City Opera which was incorporated in 2015, we bring back Carmen again for your enjoyment, and this time, even better than before.
Originally KLCO planned to stage Carmen in 2020 but we had to postpone as the world was hit by the pandemic and we patiently awaited the world to heal from the challenging calamity. As we entered into the endemic stage, we endured many challenges in our preparation for the opera but we persevered and we firmly believe that the show must go on. Assembling the team is like re-starting the opera company all over again and we are very fortunate to have continuous support from our beloved artistic team comprising of Vocal Director, Cecilia Yap and Chorus Master, Chi Hoe Mak for lifting us up and staying through thick and thin with KLCO. Our long-time friend, and Stage Director Amelia Tan, who worked tirelessly to put everything together from creative and technical aspects. She also tripled up as set designer as well as lighting designer. We are extremely grateful to have Dominique Devorsine, award-winning costume designer and long-time collaborator working remotely from abroad to put the costumes together for the show.
This year, we have the honour to introduce Maestro Yap Ling from Jesselton Philharmonic Orchestra to conduct the opera for us. Yap Ling is an established musician and has performed abroad in many operas before and with his experience as a conductor around the region, he shares his artistry in our quest to build a community of opera-lovers. Partnering Maestro will be our long-time friend and a talented musician, Lim Jae Sern who leads the team as the Concertmaster. We are also thrilled to work with award-winning choreographer, Kenny Shim again in this production.
With thanks to all our supporters, audiences, and friends, we had a successful run for Carmen, with 6 shows, the most we have ever done! And we are grateful to each and every audience who came to watch and support opera in Malaysia.
