PUCCINI'S TURANDOT

Dadda took mumsie to S'pore's Esplanade on Tuesday 2nd September for his favourite opera ie Puccini's Turandot.. Now we had been to the Esplanade quite a few times for either opera or to listen to Dadda's favourite Philharmonic Orchestra ect ect...(Staying in JB has this advantage..)
Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay is without a doubt, S'pore's most exciting performance arts venue to date. Also lovingly dubbed "the Durian" by locals, the Esplande is not only an iconic waterfront art centre that houses a concert hall, theatre outdoor performance spaces and arts library, it also houses a high-end mall (where mumsie can shop to her heart content....if only we can reach the Esplanade early....) and cosmopolitan food outlets. ..It even houses Max Brenner Chocolate Bar...!!! (and mumsie went all the way to Melbourne to taste her first cup of 'expensive hot chocolate!!' Acutally mumsie was informed that the "shape" of the Esplanade represents a microphone (and not durian) ....?????
This was taken years ago during one of our visits to the Esplanade (with Linny) and this pic was taken by mumsie's mobile...
This is the merciless Chinese Princess Turandot...
Created by the Italian composer Puccini this famous opera is based on a Persian folk story.
In it , Princess Turandot has made a solemn vow to never marry !! Princes come from afar to seek her hand in marriage, but she demands that they answer three riddles before they can claim her as a bride; if they cannot answer them, they will be beheaded. So far, all have failed and perished, until an exiled prince appears and take up this challenge, leading to a battle of wits that stirs up a maelstrom of passion, transformation and self-sacrifice....
Anyway the plot is simple enough but the music was BEAUTIFUL....Since this is set in the Forbidden City of Beijing, the melodies were quite 'Chinese-tuned' (yah Linny the famous aria Nessum Dorma was definitely included...mumsie was impressed by your knowledge..bravo!!)
Inside the Esplanade...there are free indoor performances...featuring many music genres from classical to jazz, rock pop, traditional ethnic , fusion and alternative.
Here these 3 "budding songtress" singing their hearts out...
Then we were able to literally "gulp" down our dinner before the show!!!..We chose 'ThaiExpress" restaurant cos as the name suggests, this is Thai food served in double quick time !!! It was so quick that we served our 'sweet' before our main course!!!!!.....tapioca with coconut cream and red beans with ice-cream..(no photo for this)
Dadda had this thai noodle...not bad..
Mumsie had sea-food tom-yam fried rice..

The last few times we came to the Esplanade we were able to do some "fine dining" at "My humble House" - the Tung Lok Group's restaurant...mumse was really impressed.... it elevates the dining experience to an exquiste art... The delicious Chinese cuisine was beautifully presented.. The restaurant's design - juxtaposing traditional Chinese and modern elements - creates an extra-ordinarily stylish ambience in which to dine...