As an Indian artist living in Europe, art forms in this part of the world interest me be it the Opera or the ballet. My first Opera outing had me marveling at how similar the Opera is to the ‘Sangeet Natak’ (musical drama) from Maharashtra. The entire story is sung in both forms, the quality of the poetically written lines and the technical aspects of the singing being extremely important. The earliest Sangeet Natak, Sangeet Shakuntal based on Indian Shakespeare poet Kalidasa’s ‘Abhijananshakuntalam’ had 209 musical pieces which were a mix of Hindustani, Carnatic and lighter music while its European counterpart the first Opera ever written in the Medieval period ‘Ordo Virtutum’ (Order of the Virtues) had 82 melodies. The first ever work that can be called an Opera by modern standards was‘Dafne’ and had a 455 line libretto (lyrics/dialogues).
Operas were staged in grand Opera houses that stood out for their architecture. Ornate balconies, VIP boxes, sky-high ceilings, relief work on the structure and paintings on the ceilings helped to add to the viewer experience. The Indian counterpart used elaborate settings, rich costumes, arches, richly covered furniture and guess what – perfume to scent the air when the much acclaimed and the most popular performer Bal Gandharva took to the stage. It is a pity that the Sangeet Natak’s don’t find a place in the performances today. In comparison the Operas run to packed houses.
As a trained dancer it is interesting to note how our temple dance forms are the Indian equivalent of the Ballet which originated as an elaborate aristocratic entertainment in Italy and France. The early ballets combined dance, music, and song, to enact events from mythology using elaborate costumes and masks. Its Indian counterpart presented and still continues to present stories from Indian mythology using dance, music, and song in elaborate and colorful costumes. Both the Indian classical dance and ballet have seen changes over time – be it in technicalities of the form, costumes, various schools of the forms, as well as modern interpretations.
As a Bharatanatyam exponent, I find similarity in the way the upper part of the body is held in Ballet and Bharatanatyam. The plié and grand plié can be safely called the aramandi* and muzhumandi’s** European cousins. However, ballet needs one to be noiseless in feet movements while Bharatanatyam relies more on stamping of the feet. The Indian classical musician or dancer can identify with their European counterparts on many fronts like the years of learning and discipline, the similarity in the approach of the teacher, the importance and respect the teacher holds, the attention to technique, the number of hours one spends rehearsing and last but not the least, the selective audience that enjoys these niche music and dance forms. It doesn’t stop there. Know your Bharatanatyam/Carnatic music audience by their resplendent silks, know your Ballet/Opera audience by their evening wear!
Attending these performances at one time used to be an event in itself. It is said that Indian women dressed to the hilt in their nine yards and jasmine flowers to attend Sangeet Natak shows in the yesteryears. While most viewers of both Indian and European forms prefer going low on the ‘dressing up’ quotient and most European venues have relaxed the dress code big time, semi-formal attire still rules the day.
The pre-show and intermission conversations among members of the audience at a ballet or Opera is very interesting too! Total strangers can strike up a conversation about the show and its story line, their favourite scenes and songs and other adaptations of the same story. Art truly brings people together! I have had the opportunity to be seated next to some older people at ballets or musicals and learnt a lot about the show, the composers, the earliest staging of the shows that they watched as children, etc.
To understand a country and its culture, one needs to look at its art for in that art lies many a story about the land, its people, the social structure of the times, etc. Languages may be different, the costuming, music and the dance may be different but if you scratch a little beneath the surface, the story of human emotions is the same everywhere be it the Opera Arabella that looks at the society of 1800’s, Mat Ek’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ that presents the story in the present day, or Akram Khan’s take on Giselle or the Indian Ramayana. It’s a small world indeed!
* Aramandi – half sitting position similar to plié of Ballet ** Muzhumandi – full sitting position similar to grand plié of Ballet
Originally published in the London International Arts Festival’s LIAF magazine in 2018
