S. P. Somtow
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S.P. Somtow (a rearrangement of his real name Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul; Thai: สมเถา สุจริตกุล) born December 30, 1952, is a Thai American musical composer. He is also an English science fiction and horror author.
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[edit] Science fiction
As a science fiction writer, he is known for several series, among which are Mallworld, Inquestor, and Aquila. He was first published as Somtow Sucharitkul in the late 1970s in the pages of Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, and wrote several stories and novels under that name before changing his byline to S. P. Somtow for personal reasons.
[edit] Horror
In the horror genre, he wrote Vampire Junction and a series of related novels and stories. He was president of the Horror Writers Association from 1998 to 2000. His other horror books include the werewolf/American West novel Moon Dance, the zombie/American Civil War novel Darker Angels and the collections Tagging the Moon - Fairy Tales of L.A. and The Pavilion of Frozen Women.
[edit] Symphonic works
He has also composed five symphonies and a ballet, which have all been performed. Other musical compositions include the "Requiem: In Memoriam 9/11", commissioned by the government of Thailand as a gift for the victims of the 9/11 tragedy and inspired by the poetry of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and T.S. Eliot.
[edit] Opera
In 2000 he composed Madana the first orchestral western opera by a Thai composer and based on a Thai language play by King Rama VI.[1] The opera was in English. His second opera on a Thai theme, Mae Naak, premiered in 2003 and a third opera, Ayodhya, was first performed in November, 2006.[2]. A fourth opera, "Dan no Ura", is scheduled to premiere in November 2007 in Bangkok.
He is currently artistic director of the Bangkok Opera.[3] In 2006 Somtow Sucharitkul conducted the first Wagner opera in Southeast Asia Das Rheingold, as part of a five year project to bring the entire Ring Cycle to Southeast Asia by the year 2010.[4]
Somtow was a critic of the government of Thaksin Shinawatra. Somtow replaced Nobel Prize laureate Wole Soyinka as keynote speaker at the 2006 SEA Write Awards Ceremony, after Soyinka withdrew in protest against the recent coup that overthrew the elected government. In his keynote speech, Somtow berated Soyinka for boycotting the awards and claimed that in 50 years, he had never felt more free. Soon afterwards, Somtow's opera Ayodhya was censored by the junta. State officals claimed that the on-stage death of the demon-king, Thotsakan, would constitute a bad omen to those in power. Somtow agreed to modify the scene and was forced to sign a document giving officials the right to immediately shut down the opera in mid-performance if.[1][2]
[edit] Awards and honors
Somtow Sucharitkul has won the World Fantasy Award, for which he was four times previously nominated. He has won the International Horror Guild Award, the John W. Campbell Award, the Locus Award, the HOMer Award, and numerous other awards and been nominated for two Hugos and five Bram Stoker Awards.
 Somtow with H.M. Queen Sirikit after "Sirikit Concerto" |
 Somtow with HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, and Cardinal Michai, at the Thailand premiere of Mozart's C Minor Mass. |
[edit] References
- ^ International Herald Tribune, Governed by Omens, 18 November 2006
- ^ The Nation, Why artistic freedom matters, 17 November 2006
[edit] External links
- S.P. Somtow's web site
- A short biography of S.P. Somtow
- Bangkok Opera's Official Website
- The Orpheus Choir, created by Somtow Sucharitkul
- The Siam Philharmonic Orchestra, created and directed by Somtow Sucharitkul
- International Herald Tribune Article from 2/24/01
- International Herald Tribune Article from 4/13/06 concerning Somtow Sucharitkul's Ring Cycle
- International Herald Tribune Article from 11/18/06 detailing the censorship scandal surrounding the recent premiere of "Ayodhya" in Bangkok
- Website containing S.P. Somtow's open letter to the Prime Minister of Thailand in reaction to the censorship scandal
- S. P. Somtow at the Internet Movie Database
- S. P. Somtow at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
