An Indian's tryst with opera

Budding Talent

The curtains go up even as a live orchestra plays in the background. A young, tall man with a dusky complexion, emerges to face the audience. He is Dr Maltesta of opera Don Pasquale - An Old Man turns Groom.

Though difficult to decipher what Dr Maltesta sings in Italian, one notes with some surprise that Dr Maltesta is actually an Indian. Meet Vikrant Subramanian who chose opera when it came to picking singing as his career.

“I became interested in this particular art of music seven years back when I first attended the Open Choir workshop of the Neemrana Music Foundation. Though it was Italian, it attracted me nonetheless,” says Vikrant.

Vikrant has grown up liste­n­ing to all kinds of music since the age of five. “I began participating in inter-school competitions and other singing programmes – right from childhood. I was so passionate about music that I used to have my own rock band during school days. I also joined the Artist Unlim­ited Choir to learn classical English music and jazz,” shares Vikrant.

The 21-year old, whose father was in the Indian Army, finally selected opera when he began to sing for Neemrana Choir and was offered a scholarship to undergo intensive voice training in France from 2007-2011.

“I had to leave my rock band when the scholarship was offered. I believe that if we understand our voice quality, we can sing different genres of music,” points out Vikrant.

Still in his last year of coll­e­ge at Ecole Nomale de Mus­ique, Paris, Vikrant has been performing in different operas globally. He has played Zurga in The Pearl Fishers in Colombo and while in Delhi he has sung for Morales and El Dancairo in Carmen and as Moussol in If I Were King.  He has also performed in the Magic Mozart concert held in Delhi in January 2012.

Recalling his initial years of learning, Vikrant says, “During my first year in Paris I us­ed to sing in bars and on str­e­ets – like they show in movies. It was my passion wh­ich made me sing anywhe­re. I formed a band there too and used to sing in concerts also.”
In a society obsessed with Hindi film music how attractive could the opera be for audiences? But the young budding opera artist seems to be rather optimistic.

“In terms of music the world is getting smaller. If Justin Bie­ber and Taylor Swift can become popular in India then why not opera,” he asks candidly.

“Be it Hindi or English, music can find a way to the soul and it is never bound by language,” says Vikrant who wants to remain attached with music throughout
his life.