Where: Gajah Gallery Singapore, 03-04 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road The Rake\u2019s Progress by New Opera Singapore New Opera Singapore rehearsing for Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, which plays at the Victoria Theatre on Sept 5 and 6.<\/p>\n PHOTO: SOH WEI QI<\/p>\n During the Covid-19 pandemic, New Opera Singapore had no choice but to present Igor Stravinsky\u2019s 1951 opera The Rake\u2019s Progress as a puppet-based opera film.<\/p>\n Now, the company can finally bring the English-language opera to the stage at the Victoria Theatre.<\/p>\n Says New Opera Singapore artistic director Jeong Ae Ree, who is also directing the opera: \u201cAt its centre, the opera asks questions that remain remarkably contemporary: What happens when we pursue wealth, pleasure, status and instant gratification without purpose or responsibility? How easily can a person be seduced by the promise of an easier life? And ultimately, what can save us?\u201d<\/p>\n Stravinsky\u2019s only full-length opera has decidedly literary and ekphrastic origins.<\/p>\n It was inspired by the satirical engravings of 17th-century English artist William Hogarth that showed the decline of a wastrel heir of rich merchant Tom Rakewell.<\/p>\n By introduction of Stravinsky\u2019s neighbour writer Aldous Huxley, poets and lovers W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman wrote the libretto.<\/p>\n Where: Victoria Theatre, 11 Empress Place A Magical Hour With Whee Jim by Community Foundation of Singapore Former civil servant Yeo Whee Jim was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2023.<\/p>\n PHOTO: ST FILE<\/p>\n Yeo Whee Jim, diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in 2023, launched his first collection of poems Itinerary in 2024<\/a> and a charitable fund in 2026<\/a>. He now takes the stage for a one-night-only show that will feature poetry and performance.<\/p>\n Yeo spent most of his career in the civil service. He was the institute director of governance and policy at the Civil Service College before leaving to start his own training consultancy in 2021.<\/p>\n Although the fatal disease has cost him the ability to walk and feed himself, he told The Straits Times in an interview in January: \u201cI\u2019m already at the end of my life, and if I want to go, at least go with a big bang.\u201d<\/p>\n Ticket proceeds for the show will go towards The Lok Yan and Whee Jim Fund, an endowment fund set up with Community Foundation of Singapore, which is organising this show. The fund supports disadvantaged children and families, including young caregivers balancing school and caregiving responsibilities.<\/p>\n
MRT: Cantonment
When: Till Sept 20; weekdays, 11am to 7pm; weekends and public holidays, noon to 6pm
Admission: Free
Info: str.sg\/JP8Sj<\/a><\/p>\n![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/a214e0dcf24575055fb98905ff6bfb289bdddf7bb97dfe63d2b13f8cd1ac5939.webp\")
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MRT: City Hall
When: Sept 5 and 6, 7.30pm
Admission: $25 to $80
Info: str.sg\/95sy<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Yeo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/6e25f04cb506c769d76a48387d5ce9318ab4fac0c749195576f8857f5b1ed03a.webp\")
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