PANORAMA OF BENGAL ARTS

Dance drama - Shree Radhar Manbhanjan (Shree Radha's reconciliation) 
Shree Krishna is not only most desired by Shree Radha but by all the residents of Braja. When Chandrabali wanted to claim Shree Krishna for herself, she presented the argument that "Even if there is a difference in the flowers, is there any difference in the honey? The physical identity of a man and a woman is merely the vessel; the love that flows through it is universal." But why would Shree Radha's heart accept this? She becomes resentful and Shree Krishna also understands this. This familiar story of love and separation has been immortalized in words and music by Pranab Roy and Robin Chatterjee.

Creative Director: Sougata Kundu
Presented by BARNALI group from Krishna Nagar, West Bengal

(Collaboration: Impresario India)
 

PANORAMA OF BENGAL ARTS

Folk Songs Facets of Bengal
Bengal is widely known for its rich and vibrant folk culture and folk songs occupy a very special place in the life of its people. The dialect changes in Bengal approximately in every 30 kilometres, and with it the variety of folk songs also changes. This program will portray such different varieties of Bengali folk songs from North to South Bengal.

Concept: Mihir Basu
Presented by Mihir Basu and Bishakha Basu, New Delhi  

(Collaboration: Impresario India)
 

Civil Military Relations and National Security: An Exploration of the Changing Dynamics of Civil Military Relations in a Transformed National Security Environment

Keynote Speaker: N.N Vohra, Life Trustee, IIC, former Governor, Jammu & Kashmir, former Home Secretary and Defence Secretary, Government of India

Chair: Shyam Saran, President, IIC

Discussants: Shri Sanjay Mitra, Former Defence Secretary; Admiral Arun Prakash, former Chief of Naval Staff; Lt. General D.S. Hooda, former General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Indian Army's Northern Command.

IIC DOUBLE BILL: MUSIC RECITALS

Santoor Recital

By Shantanu Gokhale from Pune, disciple of Late Pandit Shivkumar Sharma.   
Accompanist: Ujith Uday (Tabla)

At 19:00 
Hindustani Vocal Recital

By Farhan Amin from Delhi, disciple of Sh.Vijay Bhaskar and Shri Rais Ahmed Khan 
Accompanist: Mukesh Bhardwaj (Harmonium) and Sandeep Khanduri (Tabla)
 

SUMMER SONATA – A FESTIVAL OF OPERA, BALLET AND CONCERT FILMS 
Curated and Introduced by Sunit Tandon

BALLET
Léo Delibes: Sylvia
Ballet in three acts
(94 min; 2005; dvd)

From The Royal Ballet, London, with Darcey Bussell (Sylvia); Roberto Bolle (Aminta); Thiago Soares (Orion); Martin Harvey (Eros); Mara Galeazzi (Diana); etc.

Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Production Realization and Staging: Christopher Newton
Original Designs: Robin Ironside, Christopher Ironside
Additional Designs: Peter Farmer
Stage Lighting: Mark Jonathan
Directed for the Screen by: Ross MacGibbon
Orchestra of The Royal Opera House
Assistant Concert Master: Melissa Forshaw
Conductor: Graham Bond

Sylvia is a mythological ballet about a nymph devoted to Diana (goddess of the hunt) who falls in love with the shepherd Aminta after being shot by Eros's arrow. She is kidnapped by the evil hunter Orion, but eventually escapes with help from Eros to reunite with Aminta.

Delibes’ brilliant score is justly admired, not least by Tchaikovsky, who enthused, “It is the first ballet in which the music constitutes not just the main but the only interest.”
 

SUMMER SONATA – A FESTIVAL OF OPERA, BALLET AND CONCERT FILMS 
Curated and Introduced by Sunit Tandon

CONCERT
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
New Year’s Eve Concert 1988
Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 “Classical”
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
(60 min; 1988; dvd)

Evgeny Kissin, piano
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Herbert von Karajan

The 1988 Berlin Philharmonic New Year's Eve Concert was a historic performance conducted by Herbert von Karajan at the Berlin Philharmonie, featuring the debut of 17-year-old pianist Evgeny Kissin. It was one of Karajan's final concerts before his death in 1989 and is widely regarded as a landmark event that launched Kissin's international career.
 

Yatra: Opera Recital by Aastha Mohapatra 
Accompanied on Piano by Anuvrat Choudhary

A voyage through the sanctuaries of dreams and memory. Spanning five languages and multiple eras, the program features monumental works by Verdi, Mahler, Schubert, Puccini, and Rachmaninoff, alongside songs from the east.  
Aastha Mohapatra, an operatic soprano based in New Delhi. Disciple of late Situ Singh Buehler and Prof Jennifer Hamilton at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire, London. She is currently working with opera singer and voice coach Adrienne Chandok. 
Anuvrat Choudhary, pianist, has performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai. Tata Scholar, he is also a recipient of a bursary from the Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation for his Master’s in Music.
 

IIC DOUBLE BILL: MUSIC AND DANCE RECITALS

Carnatic Vocal Recital

By T K Ramachandran from Delhi, disciple of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri T.K Govinda Rao & Kalaimamani Chitravina Shri N. Narasimhan
Accompanists: Delhi R Sridhar (Violin) & M V Chander Sekhar (Mridangam)

At 19:00 
Bharatanatyam Recital

By Sathvikaa Shankar from Chennai, disciple of Guru Smt. Anitha Guha  

SUMMER SONATA – A FESTIVAL OF OPERA, BALLET AND CONCERT FILMS 
Curated and Introduced by Sunit Tandon

OPERA
Giacomo Puccini: La Bohème
Opera in four acts
(136 min; 2008; dvd; English subtitles)

From the Metropolitan Opera, New York, with Angela Gheorghiu (Mimì); Ainhoa Arteta (Musetta); Ramón Vargas (Rodolfo); Ludovic Tézier (Marcello); Quinn Kelsey (Schaunard); Oren Gradus (Colline); Paul Plishka (Benoit and Alcindoro); etc.

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Chorus Master: Donald Palumbo
Conductor: Nicola Luisotti
Production: Franco Zeffirelli
Set Designer: Franco Zeffirelli
Costume Designer: Peter J. Hall
Lighting Designer: Gil Wechsler
Director: Gary Halvorson
Host: Renée Fleming

One of the most often performed and popular of all operas, La Bohème follows four poor, young bohemians living in 1830s Paris and is centred on the romance between the poet Rodolfo and the seamstress Mimì. They fall in love, but their relationship struggles due to poverty and Mimì’s fatal tuberculosis. Despite brief separations, they reunite before she dies in Rodolfo's arms.

All this is captured spectacularly in this highly-acclaimed, grand production for the Metropolitan Opera by the late Franco Zeffirelli.

SUMMER SONATA – A FESTIVAL OF OPERA, BALLET AND CONCERT FILMS 
Curated and Introduced by Sunit Tandon

BALLET
Ferdinand Hérold / John Lanchbery: La Fille Mal Gardée
(The Wayward Daughter)
Comic Ballet in two acts and three scenes
(108 min; 2005 dvd)

From the Royal Ballet, London, with William Tuckett (Widow Simone, a rich farmer); Marianela Nuñez (Lise, her daughter); Carlos Acosta (Colas, a young farmer in love with Lise); David Drew (Thomas, a prosperous vineyard owner); Jonathan Howells (Alain, his son); Giacomo Ciriaci (Cockerel); etc.

Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Music: Ferdinand Hérold
Adapted and arranged by: John Lanchbery
Scenario: Jean Dauberval
Designs: Osbert Lancaster
Lighting: John B. Read
Staging: Alexander Grant assisted by Christopher Carr
Directed for the Screen by: Ross MacGibbon
Orchestra of The Royal Opera House
Associate Concert Master: Sergey Levitin
Conductor: Anthony Twiner

La Fille Mal Gardée ("The Wayward Daughter") is a joyful, pastoral comic ballet, first created by Jean Dauberval in 1789. The most popular version, choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton for The Royal Ballet in 1960, is known for its technical brilliance, colourful countryside setting, and affectionate humour, featuring famous scenes like the clog dance and ribbon dance.

The story follows Lise, a village maiden in love with a poor farmer Colas, who contrives to outwit her mother, the Widow Simone, who tries to marry her off to the wealthy but simpleton son of a vineyard owner.