Music and Macbeth

09 January,2011 07:33 AM IST |   |  The SundayMid DAY Team

The third edition of the Anubhuti festival, which featured stellar Indian classical music performances, draws to a close today with a performance by Kishori Amonkar and an ode to Lady Macbeth


The third edition of the Anubhuti festival, which featured stellar Indian classical music performances, draws to a close today with a performance by Kishori Amonkar and an ode to Lady Macbeth

A star line-up of instrumentalists such as tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, the legendary percussionist Trilok Gurtu and violin guru L Subramaniam opened NCPA's multi-arts festival Anubhuti. So, it's only fitting that vocalist Kishori Amonkar, an influential name in Indian classical circles, brings it to a close today.


A scene from the play Crossings: Exploring the Facets of Lady
Macbeth;vocalist Kishori Amonkar


Amonkar, an exceptional performer belonging to the Jaipur Atrauli gharana, associated with the legendary Alladiya Khan, is known to exhibit grace and restraint even in the most complex musical passages.

This performance is special because Amonkar will move away from standard bandishes to perform originals that she has composed. Of course, the singer has always maintained that while artists should break out of the traditional parameters of a raag, she has been quick to caution that the bandish is lost if it does not harmonise with the raga in which it is rooted.

"The mind then wavers from the sublime domain, not just in the meaning, but also in its structural rules," she has been quoted saying. In a recital titled Concerto, Amonkar will present bandishes in various forms and tempos set in vilambit (slow), madhyalaya (mid-tempo) and drut (fast-paced) structures.

Prior to Amonkar taking to stage, an Indian classical music and dance performance unfolds at NCPA.

Crossings: Exploring the Facets of Lady Macbeth juxtaposes Shakespeare's muse alongside figures from Indian mythology including Shakti, an incarnation of Goddess Durga.

The 80-minute piece reinterprets Lady Macbeth's actions with four performers examining what it means to be feminine or "desexed," in a production directed by Vikram Iyengar and with music by Nageen Tanvir.

Crescendo by Kishori Amonkar
At: Tata Theatre, 7.30 pm
Tickets: Rs 500, Rs 300, Rs 200 and Rs 100. No concession for members.

Crossings: Exploring the facets of Lady Macbeth
At: Experimental Theatre, 5 pm
Tickets: Rs 300, Rs 250 No concession for members.
Call: 66223724
"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
Anubhuti festival Indian classical music Kishori Amonkar Lady Macbeth