- What if the forest could speak?
- What would an elephant tell us?
- What would the last tiger say?
- Where do the birds fly when their forest is gone?
An original Cambodian rock opera. Young Cambodian voices singing for the animals and the forest that cannot speak for themselves.
Sixteen songs about the Cardamom Mountains, one of the last great rainforests of Southeast Asia. Here are three of them. Turn the sound on and scroll.
Song 05
Giant Ibis
Cambodia’s national bird, and one of the rarest birds on earth. On stage a singer becomes the bird. Sung by Heidi and Sokun.
Song 16
Voices of the Cardamoms
The finale, and the song the whole opera builds to: the forest finds its voice. Sung by Channa with the full ensemble.
Song 06
Pangolin
The most trafficked mammal on earth, with only its armour to protect it. Sung by Thea.
The music
- Sixteen songs.
- Nine animals.
- One forest.
- Elephant
- Tiger
- Hornbill
- Giant Ibis
- Pangolin
- River otters
- Flying foxes
- Gibbon
- Siamese crocodile
Every animal gets its own musical world: rock, hard rock, blues, reggae, jazz and swing, ballads and orchestral rock. The songs move from beauty and humour to danger and anger, and end in hope. About 90 minutes.
All sixteen songs
- Cambodia’s Wild Anthem
- Elephant
- Tiger’s Last Roar
- Hornbill
- Giant Ibis
- Pangolin
- River Otters
- Flying Foxes at Night
- Gibbon’s Morning Call
- Siamese Crocodile
- When the Earth Cries
- We Are Still Here
- Wild Heart of Cambodia
- Where Do We Fly? (Reprise)
- The Voice of the Wild
- Voices of the Cardamoms (Finale)
Song 12 of 16
We are still here
BeautyDangerAngerHope
The opera does not end in loss. Its last songs belong to the children of tomorrow, the generation that inherits what we decide today, and they answer for the forest.
The live show
The stage becomes the forest
Behind the singers, large projections carry the audience from deep jungle and rivers to the habitats of Cambodia’s endangered animals. Bodies become birds, hands become wings.
- 16 original songs
- About 90 minutes
- Choreography
- Projections
- Masks and costumes
The young voices
Thirteen singers, 11 to 17
Discovered and trained through the Smiling Gecko school and the GONG Talent Program. A new generation of Cambodian artists.
The singers: Vit Channa, Taao Thea, Houn Daly, Lorn Bunlai, Norm Nita, Him Sreyka, Reth Syneang, Bech Sophea, Vong Piseth, Noun Sreyneth, Noun Sreyneath, Kol Sokun and Khon Sreymey, with the GONG Talent Ensemble and Choir.
Made at The Gong
Created in Cambodia
Hannes Schmid
Creator, songwriter, librettist
Eight years as one of the world’s leading rock photographers, in studios with legendary musicians. The founder of Smiling Gecko wrote the music, the lyrics and the story of the opera.
The Gong
Recorded and rehearsed
Hannes’s songs were recorded and rehearsed in our studios, with our musicians, singers and engineers, led by music director Jennifer Long. See the studios
Bill Bensley
Creative partner
The architect and conservationist behind Shinta Mani Wild brings his love for the Cardamom rainforest to the costumes and the look of the stage.
Be there first
The premiere
21 November 2027
The Gong, Kampong Chhnang, Cambodia
No registration needed
Coming to Switzerland
- 16 and 18 December 2027Theater 11, Zurich
Basel, Bern and St. Gallen to follow.
Questions: [email protected]