NCPA Makes a Mark with Prestigious International Events, Tours and Collaborations

Close on the heels of a memorable season for the concertgoers of India, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai welcomes the last quarter with fine performances, annual festivals and major international collaborations. 

Four concerts by the Symphony Orchestra of India under the baton of the legendary Zubin Mehta. Soaring performances of Four Last Songs by star soprano Angel Blue. A weekend of classical dance solos by the stalwarts, Malavika Sarukkai and Aditi Mangaldas. The compositions of Naushad Ali and Madan Mohan brought alive by 40 musicians onstage. The maiden edition of Plácido Domingo’s Operalia, the world opera competition, with 32 participants from 18 countries in the running for top honours. The third quarter of the year ended on a high note at the NCPA offering the perfect segue for a grand close of 2024.     

“The fact that the NCPA is the chosen venue for Operalia is a tribute to its reputation, knowledge of operatic traditions and the ability to host such a major event. Some of the most distinguished figures in the operatic world, from La Scala, Milan, to the Vienna State Opera, arrived in Mumbai to judge the stars of tomorrow,” says Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, NCPA.   

Following the season that drew in audiences from around India and the world, the most-awaited jazz experience of the year, the NCPA International Jazz Festival, will offer three days of invigorating live music in November. The 2024 edition boasts a stellar line-up of young award-winning prodigies Brandon Goldberg, Matthew Whitaker and Veronica Swift and Cuban jazz legend Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The NCPA has been at the forefront of cultivating a culture of appreciation of jazz in Mumbai for decades. A stage for the world’s best as well as local talent, it will feature Rajeev Raja Combine in October. The ensemble, which pays tribute to a cornucopia of musical forms that form the universal fabric of jazz, will meld influences across jazz, Indian classical, Latin, folk and world music.   

(From left to right) Brandon Goldberg, Veronica Swift, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Matthew Whitaker

In furtherance of its cultural reciprocity, the NCPA will be taking its homegrown orchestra and productions to different parts of the world. In March this year, concertgoers at the NCPA witnessed the vibrant music of Georgia by the Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra, ‘Georgian Sinfonietta’, as it made its India debut as part of a cultural exchange. This October, the SOI Chamber Orchestra will travel to Georgia for its maiden performance. SOI Music Director and violin virtuoso Marat Bisengaliev will lead the ensemble in works by Karl Jenkins and Edward Elgar. 

Georgian Sinfonietta’s performance along with the SOI Chamber Orchestra

Patchworks Ensemble’s exhilarating new take on their show, The Gentlemen’s Club, was staged at the NCPA this September, nine years after its premiere here. A snapshot of Mumbai’s pulsating underground club scene, it follows the lives of the city’s drag kings. This run of The Gentlemen’s Club came right before the production hits London’s West End in October, which marks the beginning of the first collaboration between the NCPA and the renowned London venue, the Soho Theatre. 

Patchwork Ensemble’s play, The Gentlemen’s Club

Connections India, the annual youth theatre programme which champions the talent of the theatre-makers of tomorrow, is back with its third edition. Under its long-standing association with the National Theatre in London, the NCPA is part of a network of 300 theatre companies that shine a spotlight on over 6,000 students every year with the programme. The initiative involves a year-round process which starts with the National Theatre commissioning scripts on themes relevant for young people. Next, professional theatre practitioners from Mumbai direct plays with inputs from two visiting directors from the UK. Each director works with students and teachers of one school culminating in a festival of plays staged at the NCPA by students from various schools. This year includes two new scripts from Indian playwrights and directors Sheena Khalid and Arghya Lahiri as well as workshops in stage management, costumes, light, sound and set design. 

More theatrical experiences await audiences as veteran director Sunil Shanbag brings his production of Barricade to the NCPA in October. Written by legendary playwright, actor and director Utpal Dutt, it follows the German elections of 1933 and the subsequent political violence. The Hindustani play promises to be a poignant allegory of our times. Come December, a selection of plays from the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) will be presented at the NCPA. One of Indian theatre’s most venerated recognitions, META rewards excellence in various aspects of stagecraft. The showcase will celebrate gems chosen by META from across the breadth of the country’s theatrical practices.    

One World Many Musics: Celebrating Artistic Plurality, a festival which promotes cross-cultural understanding of music, will bring two splendid performances by The Yellow Diary and the Mumbai Mumbai Fuzikk this October. While the former is a much loved band known for its blend of poetry with a modern soundscape, the latter is an ensemble of noted artistes coming together for a musical exploration that comprises a wide set of instruments and vocal traditions of Carnatic music.   

The popular band, The Yellow Diary

The NCPA Nakshatra Dance Festival, a much anticipated event on the dance calendar of the city, is centred around iconic group choreographies. Back with productions by masters of the form, the 2024 edition includes Mohiniattam by Neena Prasad and troupe, Kathak by Kumudini Lakhia’s Kadamb and Chhau by Santosh Nair and troupe. The NCPA Pravaha Dance Festival, on the other hand, offers a platform to new works and is widely attended as well. This year’s line-up includes Nina Rajarani (Bharatanatyam), Sreelakshmy Govardhan (Kuchipudi) and Aruna Mohanty and Troupe (Odissi).    

Kathak legend Kumudini Lakhia’s Kadamb will be part of the NCPA Nakshatra Dance Festival

From the traditional repertoire, the focus shifts to modern presentations with the NCPA Contemporary Dance Season. SARI: The Unstitched, a contemporary and aerial performance has been conceptualised by Rta Kapur Chisti, co-author of Saris-Tradition and Beyond, directed by Australian composer Devissaro and choreographed by Daksha Sheth. The show has been conceived to rekindle the lost playfulness and individuality of the Indian garment and how it drapes itself around women’s identities.  

Sari-The Unstitched