But somewhat incongruously, there are just about 200 of us gathered at Pangkor Laut Resort, a private island in Perak, Malaysia for this performance ‒ the inaugural annual Opera in Paradise weekend festival held in honour of the legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
While modest in size, the line-up, which was curated by Griminelli who also serves as musical director for the event, was compelling enough for some guests to fly in specially from Singapore just for the concert (the resort is either a three-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur or a 90-minute drive from Ipoh, followed by a 15-minute ferry ride).
Also among the opera fans in attendance were VIPs including Dato Mark Yeoh, executive director of YTL Corporation’s hotels and resorts division, which owns the resort; Rebekah Yeoh, corporate finance director at YTL Corporation; as well as their business associates.
It begs the question: Why would a private island resort go to such lengths to launch an opera festival?