Indian operatic tenor Anando Mukherjee has selected a repertoire of French, German and Italian songs with themes of hope, nature, love and romance for his performance at Shikwa-Mehrabon Wali Haveli. He talks to Divya Kaushik about the growing awareness and liking for operas in India
Think opera and chances are less that you will imagine an Indian as part of the ensemble cast. But Anando Mukherjee is now a renowned Indian name as an operatic tenor. He holds unique distinction of being the only Indian tenor to have made operatic and concert debuts and appearances in leading international venues such as the Belgrade National Opera, Scottish Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (Crush Room), Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, NCPA Bhabha Opera House and the Kennedy Center. After receiving acclaim all over the world, now the artiste has his eyes and ambitions set on his homeland. Considering the growing awareness of opera in our country, he is here to present special performance as per the Indian context. The venue chosen for this on February 15 is Shikwa-Mehrabon Wali Haveli, “a grand, royal backdrop for an opera.” He has selected a repertoire of French, German and Italian songs with glorious themes of hope, nature, love and romance. “Over the years there has been awareness about opera in India. The only limitation, what I feel, is that opera is a Western art form and it is presented with European cast, something which the Indian audience could not connect to. Opera, like other forms, is for mass entertainment and that connect and identification factor with the audience is as important as in films, for example. The lack of identification between the audience and performance has to be worked upon. Institutions like the National Centre Performing Arts (NCPA) have taken a leap forward and are bringing top class operatic productions to India. The Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), formed by NCPA, is the country’s first fully professional symphony orchestra, offering a series of concerts and it has worked wonderfully to create the audience. We now will have to focus on having a great opera, which is set in an Indian context, with Indian orchestra and cast so that there is immediate connectivity with the audience. Most operas talk about human condition and the message is universal, so all we need is to change the presentation to suit India,” said Anando.
Anando is an inspiration for those who dream to pursue an art form as their profession but often dismiss this idea thinking that they would not be able to make money and name while following their artistic pursuits. He gave up his PhD to take up singing professionally. Anando was a bright student at Cambridge when he decided to do so. Back then, it was not an easy decision, considering he was in the Western world trying to enter a territory which no Indian had explored then. “It was a gamble but I think my upbringing in a cultural Bengali family has a lot to do with my string passion for music. It was strong and I was so determined that I was willing to give up my higher studies. Art as a profession is something which is open to people born in the West. If you come from the developed world, every profession is worth following. But in India that was not so. I was fortunate that I was born in a Bengali family with strong cultural influence. My mother was a trained pianist, and that is where my Western classical learnings come from. She had a strong influence on me. Amit Mukerjee, Indian classical artiste, is my uncle. I had exposure to that form of music as well. And on my father’s side, there were constant interactions with the likes of Pandit Ravi Shankar and other great artistes. All these factors contributed strongly to my passion for music. I am a dreamer but unlike others I have my feet firmly on ground and always recognise my strengths and weaknesses. I have a great deal of passion and drive and I knew that I have determination to pursue the career that was an unexplored territory. Since I had necessary academic qualifications there was healthy amount of ego and confidence as well. I wasn’t just led by my dreams and before entering the profession I did take advice from professionals in the operatic field from England who assured me that I have potential,” shared Anando, whose operatic roles include Rodolfo, Alfredo, the Duke of Mantua, Macduff, Pinkerton, Edgardo, Nemorino.
The tenor says that he was a “wild card entry” in the profession since he did not attend any music school, where one often makes fruitful contacts. But his training under the masters helped him carve a niche for himself at an early stage. “I did take private lessons from the likes of Richard Nunn and Kenneth Woollam, at the Royal College of Music. To have someone of their stature was an enormous endorsement to my potential. I studied with Nicolai Gedda, one of the greatest living tenor of the 20th century. After training under them I gained my experience on stage and climbed the ladder gradually,” he added.
Anando has been often approached by Bollywood and many “casting directors have been trying to tempt him with scripts.” But nothing could materialise so far. “But if I will get something worth doing I would take it up,” he concluded.