Greater artistic freedom in new opera house sought

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): You don't have to go to Broadway to enjoy intriguing theater. Welcome to Teater Tanah Airku, Indonesia's opera house.

The sophisticated building, located at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, was inaugurated by President Soeharto last month in celebration of the park's 23rd anniversary. The ceremony was highlighted by the performance of Anoman Opera.

Anoman Opera, by Nano Riantiarno from Teater Koma, is a marriage of modern ballet and traditional Javanese dance; theatrical and musical.

The opera, produced by Nano's wife Ratna Riantiarno, will be performed for the public next month.

Like Teater Koma, other playwrights and traditional and modern theater groups are now encouraged to stage their best works in the new opera house.

"We have been crying out and complaining about poor facilities for the performing arts. Now, we have this opera house and every artist should utilize it," said Hussein Kusuma, a management board member of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, the Jakarta Playhouse.

Performing a theatrical piece in an international-standard opera house equipped with a revolving stage and a high-tech acoustic and multimedia system was just an elusive dream for local playwrights and artists.

Dancer/choreographer Sardono W. Kusumo once claimed that Indonesian arts and culture were stagnant and almost unheard-of in international artistic circles.

"We don't have adequate infrastructure to foster our arts," said Sardono. Lack of support and appreciation from the government, the private sector and the public have devastated Indonesian arts and culture, he said.

Nano shared Sardono's views. "We have been isolated for quite a long time from the international cultural community."

Having been ignored by such world-class artists as Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh, Zubin Mehta and megastar Michael Jackson, who prefer to stage their lavish shows in neighboring countries like Singapore and the Philippines, Indonesia is now proud to have an international-standard concert hall.

The 4,000-square-meter opera house, with a 1,070 seating capacity, and high-tech support systems comparable to the Sydney Opera House, might now put Indonesia on the international cultural agenda.

Architecturally simple compared to elaborate traditional buildings in Taman Mini, Teater Tanah Airku emphasizes more on its function as a theater.

The building's construction, which took only a year to complete, was financed by PT Yasawirya Indah Megamedia, a joint venture of Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, Indosat Mega Media and Yasawirya Tama Cipta.

Youk Tanzil, the company's president, said at the opening ceremony on April 20 that building this opera house was aimed at bolstering the local theater world and introducing the Indonesian public to international-standard cultural performances.

"We expect local theater buffs will consider Anoman Opera a significant breakthrough in the Indonesian theater world," he added.

He said the opera house management would not only present foreign productions but would prefer to entice homegrown productions like the Javanese legend Roro Mendut, Malin Kundang from West Sumatra and stories taken from other local sources.

Although Indonesia does not have an opera tradition in terms of Western theatrical jargon, like Giuseppe Verdi's Aida or Llyod Webber's Cats, the country has diverse folk theaters, including Wayang Orang, a traditional Javanese play, Arja from Bali, Lenong from Betawi (indigenous Jakarta) and Bangsawan from Sumatera.

Tjahjono Soerjodibroto, the company's commissioner, believed that a lot of people might consider the construction of this multibillion rupiah project a counterproductive venture because the country is still facing social and economic hardship.

"Yet, we will take a positive stance," he said. "In this critical time, we must come up with ideas and actions that can enhance our creativity."

The idea to establish a world-class theater was a long-time obsession of the Indonesian artistic community, the government and the private sector.

Hope

The establishment of Teater Tanah Airku by the private sector was probably a real hope for local artists but a little embarrassing for the government, the institution responsible for nurturing artistic activities.

A few years ago, under former Jakarta governor Wiyogo Atmodarminto, the Jakarta municipality formed a consortium comprising government agencies, artists and the private sector to renovate Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts center and to build a world- standard theater building there.

Blueprints for the center's renovation were widely exposed to the media as well as the public. Unfortunately, implementation of the project is still unheard-of.

Indonesia now has a sophisticated opera house, but this is not enough.

"What we need now is action. We need artists, businesspeople and government officials who are really committed to boosting the country's art and cultural activities," said Ratna Riantiarno.

Farida Oetoyo, director of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, agreed with Ratna.

In the past, Farida has argued that facilities were not enough to encourage art and cultural endeavors in Indonesia. Freedom of artistic expression, strong political will and commitment from related parties are urgently required if we want to develop the arts and culture, she said.

"It is hard to stage quality works if banning cultural activities continues," she said.

Unless the management of Teater Tanah Airku and government officials provide a guarantee for freedom of artistic expression, the establishment of this valuable performing arts facility will amount to nothing.