NCPA Mumbai – The Last Dance
By Aishwarya Bodke
Charting ambitious new heights with an unforgettable Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI) Autumn Season, the NCPA brought acclaimed Indian and international artists to Mumbai. The preceding months also realised a historic moment for the city as the legendary Maestro Zubin Mehta conducted the SOI, India’s first and only professional symphony orchestra. The spirited concerts lead us to the next quarter with renewed ardour.
Maestro Zubin Mehta conducts the SOI at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre
The SOI is ready to embark on its U.K. tour, its first international tour in three years. The orchestra will perform at prestigious venues in London, Edinburgh, Oxford and Birmingham, among many others, with an illustrious bevy of conductors and musicians. Works of Mozart, Brahms and Tchaikovsky will be accompanied by John Williams’ Imperial March from Star Wars as well as the U.K. premiere of the triple concerto for sitar, bansuri, and tabla, composed by the renowned tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain.
The SOI’s upcoming tour will mark the U.K. premiere of the triple concerto for sitar, bansuri, and tabla, composed by Zakir Hussain
“The NCPA is now internationally involved in not only music making but also attending important artistic conferences and addressing other areas of national artistic interest,” says Mr. Khushroo N. Suntook, Chairman, NCPA.
While the SOI gears up to enthral the other side of the world this November, trust that the NCPA stage is in good company. The NCPA International Jazz Festival, the year’s most-awaited jazz experience, brings to Mumbai three days of invigorating live music. The stellar line-up includes the Thilo Wolf Big Band, featuring Johanna Iser, Torsten Goods and Florian Bührich on the opening day. The Emmet Cohen Trio will be joined by saxophonist Benny Benack, while the Cuban composer and jazz pianist Alfredo Rodríguez will be joined by Jesus Bachiller Jimenez on bass and Michael Olivera on drums. The final day will feature the American jazz singer Jane Monheit for a roaring end to the 2023 edition.
The International Jazz Fest 2023 will open with the Thilo Wolf Big Band
The upcoming quarter also brings two unique theatrical productions by the NCPA. A wonderfully spooky one-man play, Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas, tells the tale of a cynical drama critic driven into a coven of vampires, with underlying themes of power and personal redemption. An adaptation directed by the Head of Theatre and Films at the NCPA, Bruce Guthrie, St. Nicholas will arrive just in time for Halloween.
The NCPA’s very own Marathi production, Kalgitura, emerged from NCPA’s latest writing initiative for up-and-coming playwrights, Darpan. Having received rave reviews after its premiere at the NCPA, the play has been on tour, taking the joy of regional theatre to different cities.
The NCPA’s new Marathi production ‘Kalgitura’
The final quarter is incomplete without the annual NCPA Nakshatra Dance Festival, a salient feature of the dance calendar of the city. Back with iconic past productions as well as new works by masters of the form, the 2023 edition promises to be a memorable one. Chitrangada, a presentation of Rabindra Nritya by Sruti Performing Troupe and artistes from Shantiniketan will unfold on day one, along with a Bharatanatyam performance by Rama Vaidyanathan and troupe titled Storm Before the Calm. Bharatanatyam and Odissi performances on the second day will culminate in a Kathak dance recital by Anart Foundation and the keenly awaited presentation by Margi Theatre featuring Kathakali, a vivid dance form from the South-Indian state of Kerala. The three-day celebration will open in the last week of October.
‘Chitrangada’ is a presentation of Rabindra Nritya by Sruti Performing Troupe and artistes from Shantiniketan
The diverse cultural treasure of Indian performing arts is carefully nurtured at the NCPA, right from regional theatre to the wealth of Indian classical dance and musical forms. One World Many Musics: Celebrating Artistic Plurality, a festival showcasing a cross-cultural understanding of music, brings two splendid performances this year by When Chai Met Toast and the Dipesh Varma Collective this October. While the former is a beloved band from Kerala transcending the fringes of the independent music scene in India, the latter is an ensemble of noted artists coming together for a musical exploration comprising over ten different instruments.
When Chai Met Toast will be performing at the NCPA this October
The music never stops at the NCPA. December is a pivotal month for the lovers of Indian classical music as the Citi – NCPA Aadi Anant: From Here to Eternity unfolds to a packed Tata Theatre every year. As tradition goes, the festival will open with tabla maestro Zakir Hussain.
Another highlight includes Goddess: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine. The festival celebrates the sacred feminine form, weaving together a tapestry of poems from diverse lands and eras from Mesopotamia to Greece, from the 8th century Sanskrit poems to the 18th century Bengali poetry.