She can sing in 17 languages, perform Chopin as effortlessly as she would a modern artist and belongs to the legendary musically-gifted Rothschild family
She can sing in 17 languages, perform Chopin as effortlessly as she would a modern artist and belongs to the legendary musically-gifted Rothschild family. How's that for a biodata? British Soprano Charlotte de Rothschild, who recently wowed Mumbai with her 'noteworthy' performance, talks to CS about her show Family Connections and her connection with India:
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Incredible India
This is the first time that I performed in India, and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. But this isn't my first time in your country. I've visited Agra and Jaipur before on a family holiday. I think that India is an emerging nation and I am impressed to see the quick progress that it's making.
It is also a country that has deep musical roots. I enjoy listening to Indian classical music and Pandit Ravi Shankar is one of my favourites. And how can I forget your Bollywood songs? In fact, I've been listening to a lot of filmy music on this trip.
I am aware that Western classical music isn't too big in India, but through my show, I attempted to showcase music that runs through my family history. It was an unusual programme which presented works of greats like Rossini, Chopin, to present day composers.
We are familyu00a0
Many years of research have gone into the making of this show. It all started when I was just finishing collegeu00a0-- I heard a very beautiful song on the radio, only to find out that it had been sung by Mathilda de Rothschild, someone from my family.
It was on BBC and I got them to send me some of the other songs they had. My cousins also helped me by sending more songs that were in the family. I found out there was an autographed book which was for Mathilda de Rothschild's mother Charlotte.
The book contained works of more than 70 composers who had written specially for the other Charlotte de Rothschild. Musicologists are very interested in the family legacy that we have and here I am, presenting it to the world!