Opera double bill

Willy Landin,Stage Director,added,“There’s a lot of drama,intrigue,jealousy and murder — everything that the audience enjoys — in the production. They are akin to Hollywood and Bollywood entertainers in content.”

In their five years of existence,the SOI has held 11 seasons in Mumbai,and put up a number of highly acclaimed productions with some of the best performers in the world. Among these have been two operas — Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Tosca — a ballet and masterworks including Strauss’ Don Juan,Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite,Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Karl Jenkins’ Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary. Now,it returns for its 12th season with the twin operas,popularly known as Cav &Pag.

An opera,however,is much more than just the final performance that the audience sees before them. One of the most important aspects of the entire production is the set design,and the sets for this particular production have travelled the world. Initially constructed in Argentina,these same sets have most recently been used in Chile before being brought to Mumbai for the shows.

The first production,Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana,is a one act opera of a more traditional nature based on a play written by Giovanni Verga. The sets,therefore,for this production are traditional,too,complete with balconies and ancient looking pillars with intricate designs. The second,Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci,is told as a more modern tale,with acrobats and circus performers comprising part of the troupe. Interestingly,to give the production an Indian touch,some of the acrobats being used are Indian and the entire scene has been given an Indian flavour,as Landin put it.

Apart from Dalal,who will conduct the third show on February 21,and Landin,who is the stage director for all the shows,internationally acclaimed conductor Antonello Allemandi is also in Mumbai for these productions. He will conduct the first two shows on February 18 and 20. In addition to the two operas,this season the SOI will also present Carl Orff’s concert performance Carmina Burana on February 25 and 26,conducted by Marat Bisengaliev,the Orchestra’s music director.