'La Galigo' great, but obscure
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The much-anticipated I La Galigo theater performance made its Jakarta gala premiere on Saturday, when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and First Lady Kristiani Herawati watched the Bugis' epic-inspired work for the first time.
I La Galigo opens for public audience on Dec. 11 and Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. Shuttle buses for theater-goers will be available at Senayan, Central Jakarta.
The gala premiere at Teater Tanah Airku at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) was well-attended, with guests including top government officials like the State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik.
The performance was a three-hour-and-fifteen-minute visual feast with exquisite lighting and clever property exploits and colorful costumes.
The music by Surakarta-based musician Rahayu Supanggah was superb, and the chanting of ancient Bugis verses by Puang Martoa Saidi was a most moving experience.
I La Galigo is indeed an extravagant introductory to the magnificent 300,000-verse poem Sureq Galigo, an erstwhile and obscure Bugis epic, which has now garnered interest from the world thanks to Bali-based filmmaker Rhoda Grauer, American theater director Robert Wilson, and Milan-based Change Performing Arts (CPA).
CPA has brought the show to the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy and recently to the United States. CPA's director, Elisabetta di Mambro, said that so far in terms of audience reception I La Galigo was among CPA's top three productions from 12 current international productions.
Indonesians at home have so far only heard reports about the show's success from the rave reviews in the international media.
However, like many Indonesian critics have written since the performance's World Premiere in Singapore in March 2004, the show is a little lacking in meaning and emotion.
Especially for those who have already read parts of the manuscript or read papers on the magnificent poetry, Wilson's extravagant work misses the wild imagination of the epic.
However, at the gala premiere on Saturday, the performance received a five-minute standing ovation.
The production, which reportedly cost Rp 5 billion (about US$500,000) of which Rp 2 billion was for the superb lighting, was brought to Indonesian audiences by the Jakarta Convention and Exhibition Bureau, and was largely supported by Sampoerna Untuk Indonesia.
Information: www.ilagaligo.com