12 – 19 May 2017
The Bagri Foundation was pleased to support the premiere of Ravi Shankar’s opera: Sukanya, a mythical love story told through music and dance. This extravagant opera performance by Indian music legend Ravi Shankar featured a score by his long-time collaborator David Murphy. Ravi Shankar was working on Sukanya at the time of his passing in December 2012 and envisaged the opera as a truly groundbreaking piece exploring the common ground between the music, dance and theatrical traditions of India and the West.
This innovative co-production between The Royal Opera, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Leicester’s Curve theatre brings to life a story from the legendary Sanskrit epic of the Mahabharata. After a terrible mistake leaves the ancient sage Chyavana blinded, the beautiful princess Sukanya finds herself marrying him for the sake of her kingdom. As a pair of swaggering, meddling gods watch this unlikely union blossom; will love grow in the strangest of circumstances?
Anoushka Shankar said “At the beginning I laughed when my father, aged 90, said he was writing an opera. But he never was content to sit still. He always wanted to push even more boundaries, and bring Indian classical music to the context of opera.”
This event was supported by the Bagri Foundation and Arts Council England.
Performances toured to:
Friday 12 May 2017, 7:30pm at Curve Theatre, Leicester.
Sunday 14 May 2017, 7:30pm at The Lowry, Manchester.
Monday 15 May 2017, 7:30pm at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.
Friday 19 May 2017, 7:30pm at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London.
