ON Stage is the cultural magazine of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, and features authoritative stories on the performing arts.
Interviews
Two concerts under the baton of Maestro Zubin Mehta to open the season in August. The premiere of a triple concerto composed by Zakir Hussain in September. A fiendishly difficult violin concerto played by Marat Bisengaliev. Maestros Richard Farnes, Alpesh Chauhan and Zane Dalal on the podium. The Symphony Orchestra
Music Education
Synecdoche. It’s a lovely word. sin-ECKdock-ee. It burbles off the tongue like a waltz. It’s a thoroughly musical word. Except it isn’t, really. It’s a figure of speech in which a part of something refers to the whole. “He asked for her hand in marriage” although
Music Education
“No more lush outpouring of sound has been heard in our time than the Ponselle voice at its prime.” – Julian Moses (in Guide to American Recordings) When one says, ‘greatest singer of the 20th century’, one thinks of two artistes: Enrico Caruso, as the greatest male singer, and Rosa Ponselle,
Interviews
Ahead of her performance with pianist Christina Bjørkøe and the SOI Chamber Orchestra, the India-born Danish conductor Maria Badstue talks to ON Stage about her connection with India and the upcoming concert, while reflecting on her musical journey and mentors. Danish conductor Maria Badstue has been celebrated for her intuitiveness,
Features
It takes a pair of eyes that understands music to capture the sight of sound. A deep dive into the art of documenting live music. The final bell chimes, the doors shut. A dignified quietude takes over the concert hall as if not a strand of hair is allowed to
Throwback Thursday
In a new series, Jimmy Bilimoria discusses a work from the Stuart-Liff Collection he oversees at the NCPA. This month, he writes about the distinctive talent of Italian opera singer Beniamino Gigli “I was born with a voice and very little else; no money, no influence, no other talents. Had
News
The founding of the National Centre for the Performing Arts has been a unique landmark in the history of post-independence India for the breadth and scope of its activity in the field of culture. The dissemination of offerings in Indian, Western and International Music, Dance, Theatre and Photography, therefore, is
Music Education
In its 11th year, the SOI Music Academy has given wing to many budding musicians, some of whom are now pursuing higher studies, to carve out a career in Western classical music. As the next batch graduates, we speak to the students about the role music has played in each
News
The 2022-23 Season of the Metropolitan Opera is a great mix of contemporary works and classics. We bring an overview of the productions that will be screened at the NCPA this year. The ongoing screenings season of the Metropolitan Opera in New York is being hailed by critics as “one
News
All of nine years, Ayaan Deshpande from the SOI Music Academy has performed with the SOI Chamber Orchestra, given solo piano recitals and is all set to give his next in the land of Mozart as the winner of the Golden Key of Vienna Music Festival. The prodigy is being
Opinion
Three thousand nine hundred and twenty. That is approximately the number of hours I have spent in choir rehearsals since I started singing in the Gothenburg Cathedral Boys’ Choir at the age of 11. On top of that come concerts, performances, camps, tours, recordings, exams and various other things related
News
A cornerstone of concert repertoire, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini continues to resonate with audiences across the world. Ahead of their concert with the Symphony Orchestra of India, renowned conductor John Axelrod and the young virtuoso pianist Alim Beisembayev take us through the intricacies of this popular
