The premieres of new operas are fairly rare and often grand occasions around the world, but a recent debut here was an Asian undertaking with little precedent. A local opera company has never before been assembled in Bangkok. It was based on an innovative 1920s play by King Rama VI, who dedicated the drama to one of his wives, Queen Indrasaksachi, a great-aunt of Somtow. None of this is as unlikely as it seems, Somtow says. Opera and the arts in general are looking to the East.
People run out of new ways to say things, so they start to ransack another culture.
Somtow attracted many believers - a cast including almost all of Thailand's operatic talent as well as several American singers. He recruited Thailand's top stage director and got sponsors like the Ford Foundation, Mercedes-Benz and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. CD and video releases are planned. So is a touring production. But this is only the beginning, if Somtow has his way.