The play speaks about the journey of a woman and her subsequent evolution into a mature happy person While most Indians still look it as - a lady in a laced frock singing her lungs out the art left everybody surprisingly impressed when it presented itself in simple understandable format,while maintaining the sanctity of the art. The city chapter of Alliance Française is organising The undoing of women,an Opera play based on Catherine Clements book at Mazda Hall at 7 pm today. Artiste Aude Priya (soprano) and Philippe Engel (pianist) will unfold the story of a woman,who falls in love only to realise the futility of her faith in the man and her unending wait. However,the story,surprisingly,promises a happy ending,where the woman realises her worth and moves ahead. The play is a part of the celebration of French Language Week (La Semaine de la Langue Française),an annual international event initiated by The French Ministry of Culture. This year the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF),the Embassy of France in India and the Alliance Française in India together are organising the fortnight long celebration from March 12 to 27. Aude Priya,soparano,says,It is a beautiful story that tells the journey of a woman,from the dreams of an idealised love to the disillusion of maturity,through the most famous parts of the Opera . The play lasts for one hour and five minutes and is in English and has been specially designed for people who are not acquainted with the art form. Talking about Opera in India and her favorite scene in the play,Priya says that in one scene,it is shown how the moon gets fuller and then decreases,signifying the change. We have performed in Delhi,Kolkata and Bengaluru and the response has been amazing. On our part,even the Opera is now using music and light in a very Bollywoodish way making it more understandable for the Indian audiences. Commenting about the Opera scene in India,Philippe Engel,the pianist,says,As of now there are not many Opera performances in India,but the kind of response the art gets here,is very positive. The entry for the event is free,in which guests and members are being invited. Victoria Thatcher,cultural coordinator,Alliance Française de Pune,says,Pune has always been an art loving city. The response for the festival is too good,in fact we also have people from Mumbai coming to Pune to attend the play. The next event will be the screening of the film - Saint Saens fait son cinema Cine-concert: Assassinat du Duc de Guise (French film of 1908) with live piano accompaniment. The concert will be followed by the recital of Camille St Saens performed by Marouan Benabdallah (Morocco) on March 18 at Mazda Hall at 7 pm. (The Opera-play is being staged at Mazda Hall today at 7 pm)
