ON Stage is the cultural magazine of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, and features authoritative stories on the performing arts.
News
As the ‘Humming Chorus’ was played during a performance of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at the Minack Theatre, Butterfly gazed longingly out to the sea, looking for Pinkerton to return. Fate played director when a three-masted yacht sailed into the bay, lit by the moon. A fine example of the
Interviews
The Symphony Orchestra of India and its founding music director Marat Bisengaliev have worked closely with Welsh composer, multi-instrumentalist and conductor Sir Karl Jenkins over the years. We speak to Bisengaliev to learn about his long-standing association with Jenkins ahead of the upcoming SOI Spring 2023 Season that includes the
Music Education
A brief history of a tradition that marks the beginning of every new year for European lovers of Western classical music. Every year, on 1st January at 11.15 in the morning CET, the Vienna Philharmonic ushers in the New Year with a concert of music by the Johann Strauss
Features
There is precious little in Vienna that does not invoke awe, but there is something about a monument that is built not just of opulence and grandeur, but an unparalleled musical legacy. The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper in German) is among the oldest and most prestigious opera houses in
Interviews
Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favour had a splendid run at the NCPA in November. A conversation with the British playwright. A hundred miles from London, in his sunlit drawing room, Tom Stoppard takes slow sips of his coffee as he indulges every thought before it begins. Each
Meet the Maestro
The legacy of one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century stretches beyond musical brilliance. Towards the end of the 18th century, European thinkers like Johann Gottfried Herder began to conceive of cultural difference as being in some ways connected to the “national character” of a people. In its
Music Education
In the month of Leo Tolstoy’s death anniversary, an exploration of why the immortal novel stands out as a ballet. Immersed in the realm of words, one of the greatest writers of all time, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy went on to create a 90-volume legacy for generations to come. He
News
The Symphony Orchestra of India’s Autumn 2022 Season, with outstanding concerts, recitals and a dazzling opera, concludes with a flourish of applause. The silence—before the sound of music filled the majestic Jamshed Bhabha Theatre— was heavier than usual for it was after more than two years that the
Throwback Thursday
As the SOI prepares to present André Previn’s music for Tom Stoppard’s play Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, we take a look at the extraordinary musicality of the man who was a prolific composer, an acclaimed conductor and an inventive jazz pianist. When he died on 28th February
News
In 1873, when the Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, Franz Joseph I, approved the construction of the Hungarian State Opera, his one condition was that it must not exceed the enormity of the Vienna State Opera. However, there was no stipulation placed on its beauty or opulence. The
Interviews
As Johann Strauss’s beloved opera Die Fledermaus comes to the NCPA this month, Dr. Virág Főző, Deputy General Director of the Hungarian State Opera, talks to Aishwarya Bodke about artistic collaboration across borders. At an opera conference in Beijing about five years ago, when Mr. Szilveszter Ókovács, Director General
Music Education
Operetta, a precursor of the modern musical, is often considered less serious than opera. We delve into the history of the ‘lighter’ side of opera to understand why the form continues to thrive in musical theatre of the 21st century. Operetta emerged in the second half of the 19th century