Teater Koma to stage 'Opera Primadona'

JAKARTA (JP): The setting is Batavia (old Jakarta) in 1925. Two opera groups, Opera Miss Ketjoeboeng and Gardanella, are in a neck-and-neck competition to win an emerging young prima donna, Miss Kedjora.

Miss Kedjora, who hails from the East Java town of Jember, became a prima donna and famous in Java thanks to her successful debut in the role of Princess Angsa Putih in a play called Djoela-Djoeli Bintang Tiga.

Opera Ketjoeboeng wins Kedjora. But Kedjora's success also brought her problems. Not everybody in the Opera Miss Ketjoeboeng is happy about her presence, especially not the group's old prima donna, Miss Ketjoeboeng.

Believing that "there's only one prima donna, others are only accessories, "Miss Ketjoeboeng will do everything -- dirty tricks, terror and even black magic -- to defend her reputation as the "real" prima donna.

As Miss Ketjoeboeng is trying hard to destroy Kedjora's reputation, the story moves on to people around the two prima donnas.

Petro, Miss Ketjoeboeng's husband and director of the Opera Miss Ketjoeboeng, realizes she has had affairs with lots of men but he does not know what to do with her. Meanwhile, Kedjora's husband, Baling, cannot touch his wife who has become a top celebrity but remains loyal and loves her.

The unique story -- revealing a drama behind a drama -- is Teater Koma's latest production titled Opera Primadona (Jin Parsi and Putri Cina).

The 120-minute play will be performed for 15 days at Teater Tanah Airku, Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, East Jakarta from July 28 through Aug. 13.

The theater group, which recently restaged sold-out legendary Chinese romantic comedy Sampek Engtay, brings the work back to stage after its first show at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta in 1988.

Written and directed by N. Riantiarno, the multimedia show, which is the group's 90th production since 1977, blends music, dance and comedy.

The play will feature renowned artists like Ratna Riantiarno, Didi Petet, Syaeful Anwar, Alex Komang and Ine Febrianti.

It will be staged nightly from 8 p.m. on working days, excluding Mondays. On Saturdays and Sundays it will be performed twice at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tickets are sold for between Rp 10,000 and Rp 150,000. For more information, call (021) 7350460. (ste)