Draft:Kuala Lumpur City Opera

Kuala Lumpur City Opera
Kuala Lumpur City Opera (KLCO), formerly known as "Eat, Sing & Travel People (EST)," is a western opera company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded in 2012 and incorporated in 2015. The main goal of the company is to increase Malaysians' interest in western opera music through concerts and stage productions, all the while highlighting Malaysia's distinctive artistic, cultural, and historical legacy.

KLCO has a roster of over 20 principals singers and a resident opera chorus of 40 members. In 2023, KLCO received 5 nominations at the 18th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards (BCAA) for Best Production Values, and Best Solo Vocal Performance nominations for soprano Cecilia Yap and bass-baritone Mak Chi Hoe for their vocal performance in "A Grand Night of Opera".

Background
Before its founding, the western opera scene in Malaysia was in a troubled state from 2005 until 2011, following the failures of two opera performances of Puccini's Turandot and Bizet's Carmen. In 2012, the company was founded as the "Eat, Sing & Travel People" (EST) by founders Danny Chen and Ho Soon Yoon. EST started off small by hosting masterclasses and small concerts before culminating in its first abridged production of La bohème in 2012 at the MAP Black Box, Publika.

KLCO's creative endeavours have resulted in the winning of five BOH Cameronian Kakiseni Arts Awards for its productions of "A Grand Night of Opera (2022)," "Madama Butterfly" (2018), "Voices & Winds" (2014), and "L'elisir D'amore" (2014).

In its efforts to reach out to the Malaysian community, it has held the OperaKUL festival in 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021. The inaugural festival in 2016 was held at the White Box, Black Box and The Square at Publika, Solaris Dutamas in Kuala Lumpur on May 7 and May 8, 2016. Small-scale performances took place all weekend long, along with a bazaar with memorabilia, food, sheet music, and souvenirs relating to opera.