firdaus-a's website

What do I really like to do?

French	One of the first things that have come up in my mind about what I like to do would have to be about French. Why have I chosen to undertake such a language which has had little or no influence in my ancestral heritage? Frankly, I don't know.

	There is a wonderful about the sounds the Frenchies make. Yes, I've been called "French Pig" because I appear snobbish and that I speak French! Anyway, before I had much influence in taking things in to my own hands... (That means I hadn't the power, knowledge or resources to have taken French in my early interest.)... I would imitate the urdles and oodles of the Frenchies that I've heard on TV. Eventually, all that mimicking helped me pronounce all the French words when I got to it in September 2002. :-) Enough about French.

CALIKONG

	CALIKONG Dining Theatre Co. is a project undertaken by my groupmates and I for our Public Relations Management module. It's about a dining theatre which focuses on being everything Singaporean. CALIKONG is Hokkien for: "Let me tell you...", therefore making this an apt name for a theatre that tells you what Singapore is about.

Opera	Rossini! His world and mine. Did you know that the music from "The Lone Ranger" was written by Rossini in his overture for William Tell? I didn't think you'd know anyway. My favourite singers are Joan Sutherland with her big big voice and Marilyn Horne, with her big and brilliant, sometimes manly voice.

	How I got my job at HMV would be when I first started learning about Opera and that newly acquired knowledge and interest became my selling point. Et voila! I got the job. They required someone who knew about opera and classial music. Working there was a wonderful experience. Meeting people, trying to influence them in to buying expensive Joanie and Hornie CDs... Ah, the days. Of course, I've also learnt much about World Music. That's the section where HMV needed a lot of work Eventually, my course in Arts Management got me through to learning about the music from around the world.

	Another way Opera was useful when my group and I had to present a short performance for my History of Theatre class. In my team were two students with a good background in theatre. They were already working with theatre companies when they joined the college. It was to be a performance of a romantic theatre piece. Rossini was perfect. L'Italiana in Algeri, a comic opera became an idea. The finale for the first act was most appropriate. It became the most memorable work I've ever done in my life. We had costumes, contemporarised lines, comedy, tragedy, LIVE PIANO MUSIC, love, hate, jealousy, adultery, crying... just like a soap opera. Just amazing. :-)

	Here's the one and only picture of our production on stage. The days... I am even thinking about making this a full-scale musical one day.