The fandom of the opera

What is it about opera that makes people gravitate towards it? The pioneers of the musical artform in India gauge its increasing popularity and healing powers

- Karishma Kuenzang

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 art form 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