PALACE OF CULTURE

My blog entry today is rather different than usual. I've been thinking a lot about the Elizabethan theater-the circular shape stage, the "heaven" and "hell". Thinking of the Elizabethan theater makes me think of Malaysia’s own opera house-Istana Budaya. I was lucky enough to visit this palace of culture during the holidays with my family. I will share my unforgettable experience in this blog since we are doing drama class this semester. What really impressed me about Istana Budaya is in its glorious architecture. The light blue roof looks it has been modeled after the Sydney Opera House. However, it is actually designed to mimic the sirih junjung, the multi-tiered arrangement of betelnut leaves used in traditional Malay ceremonies. According one of the workers there, it was designed by Kamar Yaakub to reflect the traditional side of the national heritage. The base of the theater is in the shape of the wau bulan. The staircase leasing to the grand entrance is in the style of a traditional house while the lobby mimics the rebana ubi.There is an air of elegance as I walk into the lobby, across an expanse of polished Langkawi marble floor with geometric motifs. The grand entrance itself is reminiscent of the Balai Rong Seri, audience hall of a Malay palace. Lastly, the royal boxes in the auditorium replicate the spacious windows of a Malay house. The Panggung Seri stage hall is everything you would imagine a national theater house to be. With its cavernous hall and state-of-the-art stage mechanism, Istana Budaya is capable of hosting the heavyweights of theater. In fact, it has staged productions of Andrew Llyod Webber’s Cats and Giacomo Puccini’s operas Tosca and Turandot. As a Malaysian, we do not have to go abroad just to watch world-class performances because they now come to our shores. And for that, we have to thank Istana Budaya for bringing the world to our country.