Aude Priya Wacziarg was 17 years old when she passed by a music school in France, and was drawn to the opera singing she overheard. She immediately signed up for lessons.
When her father, the late Francis Wacziarg, a Frenchman who came to India in 1970, and was a banker and businessman who also co-founded the Neemrana hotels, suggested organising an opera performance in India, Priya played the female lead in the Fakir of Benares, directed by Muzaffar Ali, in 2002.
The show then travelled to Mumbai in 2003. And it was there that The Neemrana Foundation, a non-profit organisation for music, was born.
The foundation stone
“Opera is an artform which is quite spectacular with respect to music and costume. A bit like Bollywood. We wanted to try and grow the genre in India,” explains Priya.
Back then, Mumbai had a production house for opera, but the musicians came from elsewhere. “So, we thought, why not train musicians here instead?” says Priya.
Today, the Neemrana Foundation has an academy with 16 solo singers, an ensemble, a kids’ choir, and a choir for teens. The singers are coached by Jasmin Martorell, 61, who first flew to India in October 2001, having already been a teacher to Priya, to coach singers for the Fakir of Benares, in which he also participated.
Opera in India
The genre of opera is mostly unfamiliar in India, but quite easily explained, says Priya.
“It is a story, but instead of being spoken, it is sung, accompanied by an orchestra or just the piano. It’s like a musical, but a tad more classical. Today, people think opera is an art for the elite. But, in fact, at a time without TV and cinema, everyone went to the opera. It was a part of life,” says Priya.
Opera is also a good vector for culture, Priya adds. For example, the Neemrana Foundation gets French teachers involved if the opera is in French, and so on.
At the same time, the audience in India for this once unfamiliar genre is growing. The foundation’s packed concert halls are proof of that. “When you have Indian singers, their family and friends come for the shows,” Priya explains.
To increase awareness about the genre, the foundation does a pre-show at a lower cost at universities and colleges.
“College life plays a big role in choral music in Delhi. And we take over from where universities leave them! Music plays an important role in the cultural and emotional aspect of a child’s upbringing. It has a big impact,” states Priya.
Awareness alert
Even though parents in India are still not very supportive of their kids pursuing music as a career, Priya hopes the foundation will acquire many more singers.
“Opera singers in the West are called ‘divas’ and get huge amounts of respect. We organise events and let parents see their kids shine on stage. If they feel the emotion when their kid is singing, it’s totally worth it,” she says.
“Besides,” she adds. “We all listen to music to soothe our pain. And the voice is a very immediate instrument. Imagine watching a film without music in it. The audience won’t be as moved.”
Jasmin, who has also written a book on the history of opera, conducted a vocal workshop five years ago for nurses working in the Clinic of Laborde, a psychiatric hospital in France.
“A week after the patients also started singing under the nurses’ guidance, the doctors had to decrease their medication,” smiles Jasmin, who did the workshop for three years.
International genres of music are also gaining ground in India due to the improving music scene.
“Ten years ago, we didn’t have The Piano Man Jazz Club in Delhi. Today, there’s a venue in the city that does not one, but two shows a day, every day. Arjun Sagar Gupta, the owner of The Piano Man Jazz Club and an accomplished pianist himself, has created a bridge between pop and western classical music,” adds Priya
Now in her 40s, Priya retired as a singer when she became the head of the foundation after her father’s demise.
“I really enjoy seeing the academy musicians performing on stage,” she says.
Jasmin adds, “Today, I have my best singers representing me, and becoming good teachers also. I am happy I discovered India.”
The Neemrana Foundation has a show on September 15, followed by another in October, before a big production in March 2023.
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From HT Brunch, September 3, 2022
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