Keel Watson / Reviews

Sukanya, the only opera by Ravi Shankar, virtuoso sitar player and one of the first truly global music stars is certainly a lavish treat for the eyes and ears. Amongst the music and singing is plenty of excellent dance by Aakash Odedra, another artist who bridges Eastern and Western traditions with such ease.The story is taken from the Sanskrit texts of the Mahabharata. Having accidentally blinded the revered and aged sage Chyavana, the princess Sukanya is offered to him as a bride by her father, King Sharyaati, to make amends. It’s a fate she accepts with remarkable dignity as she sings of her destiny.Odedra’s dance tends towards the traditional, although there is sometimes a contemporary edge to things. Given the severe restrictions on space, that the choreography looks so good speaks volumes. Standing out is the lithe Indian film actor and bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar, a temple dancer in gorgeously coloured silks. Everything about her sparkled: her rhythmic footwork, poses, facial expressions and super-clear hand movements. I also enjoyed a duet between Odedra and Sanjukta Sinha, in identical white costumes, that was full of spins and turns.The atmosphere throughout is light and innocent, although every now and again there’s an explosion of excitement, one in Act 2 matched by a terrifically exciting dance by all five dancers. The music is loaded with gorgeously listenable to melodies, Murphy’s orchestration combining the Eastern and Western instruments beautifully; no easy task given that Indian music uses scales based on the harmonic series, which introduces microtonal notes that are mostly not used in Western music. The different Indian and Western operatic traditions add further complexity. In Sukanya, the singers sing Indian ragas, the opera also including konnakol, a voiced percussion. In amongst in all is the soft yet gin clear voice of The Royal Opera soprano Susannah Hurrell as Sukanya, whose husband was played by tenor Alok Kumar. I also enjoyed the sweet sounding Eleanor Minney as Sukanya’s friend, and Njabulo Madlala and Michel de Souza as the bumbling Aswini Twins, who you just knew were going to finish up losing out. Keel Watson is the well-rounded King.All round an evening of pure delight. Sukanya may not be opera as usually known in the West but it’s a massively colourful, entertaining, total integration of music, dance, drama and modern visuals. Above all, perhaps, an evening of driving energy that shows just how well different traditions can come together in the right hands.