Best Foot Forward
There is much to look forward to this year at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai (NCPA).
As we approach what possibly seems to be the end of a dark, meandering tunnel, we stand ahead of a new season of possibilities and promise. At the NCPA, this period has been used towards planning the way forward and more ambitious programming. “The leadership shown by the genre heads and senior management has led to the return of improved programmes. As a result of the quiet work done during the lockdown, the NCPA will emerge stronger than ever,” says Mr Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, NCPA.
The care which the leadership showed towards looking after its employees and artistes made the NCPA a safe haven in these trying times. The centre was able to retain all its musicians throughout this period which saw the dissolution and disbanding of many great ensembles and organisations all through the artistic world.
Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, NCPA, seated in the centre with (left) Dr. Suvarnalata Rao, Programming Head – Indian Music, and Ms. Farrahnaz Irani, General Manager – International Music; (Standing, from left): Mr. Mukesh Parpiani, Head – Photography & Gallery; Mr Bruce Guthrie, Head – Theatre & Films; Ms. Swapnokalpa Dasgupta, Head of Dance Programming, Mr. Xerxes F. Unvala, General Manager – SOI & Western Classical Music
The centre is now making great strides in areas that the current leadership has led the NCPA into. The Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), the first professional orchestra in the country which was co-founded by violin virtuoso Mr Marat Bisengaliev and Mr Suntook, is a fine example. Running the orchestra without difficulties and conflicts while continually improving its programming and reach is a unique achievement. Consequently, the quality achieved by the SOI has now brought it into international sphere through sustained efforts of Bisengaliev, Orchestra Manager Ms Onay Zhumabayeva, resident musicians of the SOI, many of whom also teach at the SOI Music Academy, the department of Western classical music and a network of consultants in India and beyond. The NCPA also houses the rich Stuart-Liff Library, which is a treasure trove of 6,000 books and 11,000 LPs on Western classical music. With more records and CDs on their way to Mumbai, the library is the result of the legacy left to the NCPA by Mr Vivian Liff and Mr George Stuart, renowned experts on vocal music and its history.
The Indian music division, headed by Dr Suvarnalata Rao, has progressed rapidly. The quality of shows is recognised as being out of the top drawer. Over the past two decades, thematically curated festivals have been appreciated by the artistes as well as audiences worldwide. The Aadi Anant festival supported by Citi, for instance, showcases celebrated Gurus with their shishyas or disciples as a testimony to the perpetuation of tradition. It also features works that seek to delve into the realm of creativity, inspired by the changing socio-cultural milieu in which the next generation of artistes are being groomed.
Song of the Himalayas presented under Citi-NCPA Aadi Anant in February 2022 (Photo Credit: Narendra Dangiya)
The resumption of performances earlier this year began with a partnership between the NCPA and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (the municipal corporation of Mumbai) to present NCPA@ThePark, an initiative aimed to celebrate the return of live performances and performing arts in the city and welcome art enthusiasts back to theatres. Spread across the first two weekends of March, the performances were presented in a landmark garden space in South Mumbai. They were open to the public free of cost and organised in adherence to current Covid norms. “It is part of our vigorous initiative towards taking our genres and the orchestra to different parts of India and make our presence felt as truly a national centre,” says Mr Suntook. “From getting permission for outdoor concerts to the curation, the senior management and heads of genres have been deeply involved in this endeavour, which we plan to sustain to the benefit of people across the city and country.”
The NCPA continues to spread its wings. Here is a glimpse of what lies in store this year:
Indian Music
India completes 75 years of Independence and to commemorate the milestone, celebrations will begin on 1 July 2022 rising to a crescendo on the midnight of 14 August 2022. For a culture as rich and diverse as ours that dates back to thousands of years, 75 years is a rather short period of time to trace the evolution of music. Yet, given the pace of change brought about by rapid advancement in science and technology, the last seven and a half decades have acquired great significance in the world of culture. The arts, after all, cannot escape this churning. The musical celebration will present works of artistes rooted in how they perceive these 75 years.
Regional flavours in programming, showcasing the musical prowess of veterans as well as young artistes in the fields of Hindustani, Carnatic, light, film, folk and spiritual music, and guided listening sessions of rare archival recordings in the NCPA collection are among the other highlights of the festival celebrating the milestone. The themes will also continue to reflect in the curation of other events through the year.
Western Classical Music
The SOI Autumn 2022 Season brings to India a fully staged production of Johann Strauss II’s beloved operetta, Die Fledermaus, presented in collaboration with the Hungarian State Opera, with the SOI in the pit. The collaboration came about through Mr Suntook’s good offices, when he met Mr. Szilveszter Ókovács, General Director of the Hungarian State Opera, at an international conference. The season will also feature internationally renowned artistes including pianists Pavel Kolesnikov and Benjamin Grosvenor, and conductor Alpesh Chauhan.
Musicians of the SOI will also perform a series of chamber music concerts, including two concerts in April featuring some of the best-loved works in the repertoire, joined by violinist Ralph deSouza and pianist Fali Pavri. The Artie’s chamber music concerts will also return to the calendar in the second half of the year. Though touring internationally is still a tricky proposition, the SOI Chamber Orchestra hopes to travel around India and present concerts and workshops in other parts of the country.
Members of SOI Chamber Orchestra during the Concert at Tata Theatre, NCPA on 25 February 2022 (Photo Credit: Narendra Dangiya)
International Music
In addition to the talented musicians from across India who find a platform at the NCPA to perform pop, soul, funk, R&B, jazz, classic rock, EDM, Indie rock, fusion, country and world music, the genre will present renowned international acts through the course of the year.
London-based singer-songwriter Shanay Holmes will arrive in Mumbai with her band in July for NCPA Legends, which features tribute concerts to iconic artistes who have shaped their respective genres.
The line-up for the International Jazz Festival is a star-studded one. The three-day celebration will open with Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Monty Alexander and the Harlem-Kingston Express on 25 November 2022. The second day will witness a concert by noted singer-songwriter Jazzmeia Horn ft. the Jazz Interludes. The finale brings down The Mingus Big Band, a Grammy-winning 14-piece flagship ensemble that celebrates the music of composer/bassist Charles Mingus.
The Mingus Big Band
Dance
The three-day NCPA Mudra Dance Festival in April will be based on the theme of manthan or churning within and around. The idea of socio-political and emotional upheaval, not limited to the pandemic, will find expression in symposia, and performances across styles. Every year in August, the NCPA takes great pleasure in inviting renowned institutions of the country to showcase and share their works through performances, seminars and lecture-demonstrations during the NCPA August Dance Residency. This year, an institution of great standing in the world of Kathak has been invited. Other highlights of the year include Apaha, renowned dancer-choreographer Malavika Sarukkai’s ode to water in its many forms in June; the group dance festival of Nakshatra in October; the Contemporary Dance Season in November-December; and the Utkarsh series of lecture-demonstrations which resumed in March on the online platform.
Malavika Sarukkai
Theatre
The genre seeks to embrace the theatrical heritage and diversity of India by relaunching its flagship festivals Pratibimb (Marathi), Vasant (Gujarati) and Ananda (Hindi) through the course of 2022 and 2023. The festivals will focus on established companies as they take to the stage, showcasing the very best theatre from around the country.
The upcoming NCPA productions hope to offer the audience a wide palette of theatrical hues. A Small Family Business by Alan Ayckbourn was scheduled to open in April 2020 and will now be staged in May 2022. It revolves around Samson Sequeira, a man of principle in a corrupt world. An NCPA production, in association with Akvarious Productions, it has been adapted by Akarsh Khurana and directed by Adhaar Khurana. Lungs, written by critically acclaimed British playwright Duncan Macmillan, grapples with the pertinent question of bringing a child into the world in which the ice caps are melting, and there is overpopulation and political unrest. At the NCPA, the play will be directed by Quasar Thakore-Padamsee. It is scheduled to be staged in June. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour by legendary playwright Tom Stoppard, with music composed by conductor André Previn, is a play with six actors and a live orchestra — the SOI. Set in Soviet Russia, the play revolves around a man held captive in a mental asylum for speaking out against the government. He shares a cell with a genuinely disturbed schizophrenic, who believes he has a symphony orchestra to conduct.
Quasar Thakore Padamsee (Photo credit Arghya Lahiri)
The Summer Fiesta returns from April to June, offering a wide variety of arts and performance workshops for children and young people aged 3-20. There will also be six curated performances for young people, making the NCPA the ideal destination to engage with and entertain youngsters during the school holidays.
For more details on upcoming events, please log on to www.ncpamumbai.com