Domingo moves Operalia to India

Domingo moves Operalia to India

Opera

norman lebrecht

January 08, 2024

The announcement comes from a firm of watchmakers:

Rolex proudly presents the 2024 edition of Operalia in Mumbai, India from Sunday, September 15 to Saturday, September 21 at the National Centre for Performing Arts.

Comments

  • Put down the baton and exit the theater. says:

    In this picture we find a man completely out of his element.

  • Rome says:

    Well he had to pick a place where they can’t tell the difference between him and a real tenor – I say it’s a smart choice.

  • V.Lind says:

    I think “a firm of watchmakers” is a bit condescending. Rolex is a very distinguished brand, and a very generous one. A Rolex sponsorship is considered extremely desirable, and enviable.

    • Maria says:

      Yes, the Met and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, to mention two. But probably Norman’s dry sense of British humour as I understand it and non-Brits don’t! Ha, ha!

  • Ludwig's Van says:

    Oh yeah, makes sense – such a major event should be held in a country that has produced so many great operas – and opera singers…

    • John Borstlap says:

      Why should a country like India – with a very impressive culture of its own – not open itself up to Western classical music, like China? I have Indian young friends and they know about Western classical music, nowadays it is so much more accessible than it was in the past.

  • Jackson says:

    It should be remembered that Domingo hasn’t been charged with any offences whatsoever.

  • A.L. says:

    In a country in which control, abuse and rape of women runs rampant, he will feel right at home.

    • John Borstlap says:

      FYI: it is a very different country from the West. Such deplorable occurrances happen in rural areas. There is an immense difference between the provinces and the urban conglomerations, like Mumbai which is by all means a cosmopolitan, highy-developed city where also lots of Westeners live and work. That the Indians are so late with importing Western classical music is because they have so much culture of their own.

  • lohengrinn says:

    so it won’t just be the singing that stinks this year

  • Historian says:

    Actually, Mumbai had an opera house built in 1916, which imported all manner of western music, including opera. I have always been fascinated by this Royal Opera House which has now been renovated and is beautifully described in an AD.in article “Inside the Majestic Grandeur of Mumbai’s newly restored Opera House” by Leena Desai, 11/15/2016. Over the decades, It became a film theater, and the interior crumbled so badly it could not be used. Shops and stores attached to the front of the house worsened the situation. I had always hoped this opera house would one day reopen and am thrilled that donors were found to fund the renovation. I can see operas like Lakme, Padmavati, Les Pecheurs de Perles, Le Roi de Lahore, Samson and Delilah, Otello, Tolomeo, re d’Egritto, and Madame Butterfly and so many others being produced. No doubt, opera competitions could also be presented there.

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