While it’s rare to find opera singers in the country, much more to come across one who has shifted allegiance from Hindustani classical music to Western classical. Bangalore-based vocalist Rahul Bharadwaj says that the words of the poems combined with the heartrending music that forms the pillar of a piece, was “magical” enough for him to leave behind his 15-year training at the Kumar Gandharva Sangeet Academy in Devas, Madhya Pradesh, to becoming a full-fledged baritone. Now, he is looking to touch others with this magic through a performance at Experimental Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, today at 7 pm. “There is no love lost between me and Hindustani classical music,” says 35-year-old Bharadwaj, who made the switch seven years ago. “It’s just that I was more attracted to opera. I especially love the fact that the opera does not use any amplification through equipments like mics; it’s as if you are directly conversing with your audience,” he says. It has been a difficult switch for him. Opera barely has an audience in the country, and the courses to learn the form do not come cheap. The concert today is in aid of the latter, where Bharadway is looking to raise money for his Masters programme that he hopes to complete at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, London. He got through the course after a fourth attempt last year. “The idea is to learn from the best, get live performance exposure, and then give back to the singing community in India. I’m hoping this series of concerts will help me do that,” he says. While a full-blown opera is a big-budget production, the performance today will be one of art songs — Bharadwaj will be accompanied by a pianist and will sing compositions to famous poems. From English pieces by Henry Percell to German ones by Richard Strauss among others, the pieces will show a full range of Bharadwaj’s vocal abilities.
