Music and 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 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

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