Compilde by C. ARUNO and QISTINA SALLEHUDDIN
MUSIC maestro Datuk M. Nasir (pic) may have received encouraging feedback for his theatrical directorial debut, Mansur and Liu, but he is not one to declare himself satisfied, Berita Harian reported.
The large-scale musical, which previewed at Panggung Sari, Istana Budaya, last week, marked his first outing as a theatre director, a role he said came with high artistic demands and expectations.
“Satisfied is not in my vocabulary. But I am very grateful because the cast exceeded, or perhaps reached par, what I expected of them.
“I understand and know that they can do more than that.”
One of his biggest challenges was finding performers with strong vocal abilities, particularly for the lead roles.
“When we present a musical theatre production, we need actors who can sing well. Not actors who can merely sing, but those who can sing well.”
On the musical score, he said his five decades in the industry made it natural for him to translate the characters of Mansur and Liu into music.
His childhood exposure to Chinese classical music in Singapore also influenced the musical treatment of Princess Liu.
> Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has sought marriage advice from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and wife, Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, ahead of his wedding to actress Bella Astillah, Kosmo! reported.
Syed Saddiq, 33, personally delivered his wedding invitation to the veteran couple, whom he described as among the most important guests on his list for the Oct 10 ceremony.
“Personally delivering the wedding invitation to Tun M and Tun Hasmah. Senior-most special guests on the list, but still the youngest couple at heart.
“Entering married life means I have to seek advice from Malaysia’s most experienced couple,” he said in a Threads post.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
