Chromatics Ensemble will perform operatic music from across centuries

Once again, it is a child prodigy who takes centrestage. From when he was a little boy who could barely reach the piano pedals, touring Europe to delight aristocracy with his music, to the time he grew to be a man-child who died young, nearly every opera house resounded to the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His notes continue to illumine the classical music arena after two centuries.

A Celebration of Opera, an evening of arias from French, German and Italian operas, performed by Chromatics, an ensemble of 15 singers, will open its concert hosted by Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan Chennai, with Mozart’s ‘Overture’ to the Marriage of Figaro. Accompanied by piano, strings and woodwinds, and directed by the renowned choral conductor and teacher Augustine Paul, Chromatics comprises young, talented and qualified singers.

Augustine Paul with the musicians
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

“Chromatics stages concerts showcasing individual voices through arias from operas and oratorios, and lieder and Italian art songs,” says Paul. “They do sacred aria concerts too. The ensemble was formed to facilitate performance opportunities for the talented.”

“The programme that features songs from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Beethoven’s Fidelio, Puccini’s La Boheme, Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette and flute pieces by Offenbach, among others, will be presented with action and use of minimal costumes and props,” adds Paul. “It also involves a surprise element in one of the opening pieces.”

Opera, for most music lovers in the city, resonated from a distance – for years performers came in from Europe, with Indian choirs carefully treading around the sanctum that formed the heart of the operatic genre. With their voices rising and falling, singing of love, loss, longing and laughter, the singers of Chromatics hope to usher in an unforgettable night at the opera.

The date and time of the concert, that is open to all, will be announced shortly.