OVERCOMING THE DIFFICULTIES FACED BY UNPERFORMED THAI OPERAS IN THE MODERN ERA

Abstract

Throughout history there have been a number of operas written by Thai composers. Sadly, five of these Thai operas remain unperformed to this day. Rather than abandoning these cancelled works to history, there is the potential to learn from their failures as a means to assist future Thai opera productions. This academic article is focused on overcoming the issues that these unperformed operas endured. Four key reasons emerged for their failure, these being culture, politics, popularity and financial support. These obstacles were not easy to remedy at the time, however, could we now utilise modern technology to overcome such hurdles? This led to the question of whether future operas could avoid this dreaded unperformed status by outlining modern solutions to these past problems. This investigation is vital, with many young Thai composers eager to produce operas. By highlighting the challenges that unperformed operas have faced, and offering counter measures, the hope is for future generations to attune their own creative process to evade these barriers.