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US PREMIERE
Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia
Dec 15—Dec 16, 2017
 
Music | Film

Directed and designed by Rithy Panh
Music by Him Sophy
Libretto by Trent Walker

Presented in association with Cambodian Living Arts

 

Two survivors of the Khmer Rouge—composer Him Sophy and filmmaker Rithy Panh (The Missing Picture)—attempt to return dignity to their country’s dead with this musical ritual remembering the Cambodian genocide. Against cinematic evocations of this bruised history, Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia recruits the Metropolis Ensemble, the Taipei Philharmonic Chamber Choir, and traditional Khmer vocalists and instruments—ancient harps, flutes, and the xylophone-like roneat pluah—to mourn the nearly two million forgotten souls. Mellifluous Buddhist smot chanting and other all-but-extinct Khmer musical forms are woven throughout a procession that moves from the heavens to the killing fields, culminating in a plea to recognize impermanence as the only path to peace.

 

Film by Rithy Panh
Stage direction by Gideon Obarzanek
Music direction and conducting by Andrew Cyr
Lighting design by Bosco Shaw
Costume design by Romyda Keth
Music developed in collaboration with Metropolis Ensemble
Original idea by Charley Todd

Commissioned by CAMBODIAN LIVING ARTS. Produced by THE OFFICE performing arts + film.

Additional commissioning support provided by BAM 2017 Next Wave Festival, The Rainbow Initiative, Ministry of Culture Taiwan (R.O.C.), Taipei Philharmonic Foundation, Ford Foundation & Institute of International Education, The Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture Grant, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Australian Embassy in Cambodia and Arts Centre Melbourne.

 
 
RUN TIME
Approx 1hr 5min
VENUE
TICKET INFO
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RELATED EVENTS
Leadership support for Diverse Voices programming at BAM provided by the Ford Foundation
Major support provided by The Freeman Foundation and Edward Jay Wohlgemuth
“a moving, cogent experience”
— The Sydney Morning Herald
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Bangsokol
VISUAL ART
A Contextual Installation by Rithy Panh
On view in the Lepercq Space Dec 12—16. Featuring Trent Walker's libretto and images sourced by Rithy Panh.
Q&A
Meet Him Sophy
From surviving the Khmer Rouge to writing Cambodia’s first opera.
Bangsokol
Bangsokol
ARTICLE
Meeting Rithy Panh in Cambodia
Cambodia’s dark history through the Cannes-winning director’s lens.
RELATED EVENTS
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