YOUNG STARS SHINE AT MUSICAL GALA

Bangkok Charity Orchestra's concert at Aksra Theatre raised funds for underprivileged children and earthquake relief

- ■WILLIAM NIALL MORRIS

Since its foundation in 2010, the Bangkok Charity Orchestra (BCO) has raised over 25 million baht for good causes in Thailand. Recently, at the Aksra Theatre (King Power Rangnam), conductor and BCO founder Chulayuth Lochotinan guided his 80-piece orchestra with authority and style through an impressive musical gala.

The intention was to raise money for the Paintbrush Foundation, which provides free music and art education to underprivileged children in the Klong Toey slum community of Bangkok. However, the ebullient MC Supapij Xoomsai Na Ayudhya announced that 30% of the evening's proceeds would be donated to the Bangkok earthquake appeal.

Presenting the show as a party scene from Strauss' Die Fledermaus, maestro Chulayuth opened with a spirited performance of the overture, giving the orchestra time to settle before handing over the limelight to a troupe of talented soloists.

Johann Strauss II is often called the King of Waltzes, but he was also the Emperor of Operetta and Die Fledermaus, which premiered in 1874, is the jewel in his imperial crown. The score is packed with memorable tunes, all hanging by the thread of a charmingly implausible plot. Ultimately, it is a romp through upper-class 19th century Vienna, where people with plenty of money and too much time on their hands attend a lavish masked ball, hosted by a bored Russian prince (played with panache by Potprecha Cholvijarn).