Anando Mukerjee is India’s first and, currently, only true operatic tenor performing in the world today. Having trained in Europe for several years with some of the finest vocal pedagogues in the world including Nicolai Gedda, one of the greatest living tenors of the 20th Century, he holds the unique distinction of being the only Indian tenor till date to have made operatic and concert debuts. He also made appearances in leading international venues such as the Belgrade National Opera, Scottish Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (Crush Room), Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, NCPA Bhabha Opera House and the Kennedy Centre.
In a tete a tete, Anando talks about his roots, his growth as a tenor and opera in India.
Do you feel opera can become popular in India and what needs to be done to make it a popular genre?
Today India is excelling in every field of human endeavour. Opera is and should be no different. We have a huge, youthful, upwardly mobile, highly sophisticated and educated middle-class who wish to access and experience everything. Opera is a natural fit for India. It’s melodramatic, colourful and larger than life – just like Bollywood. If its contextualised without being diluted it’ll take hold of the public’s imagination by being relevant to their everyday experience. At its core like any great art form, opera is about the truth of the human condition and universal themes that cut across all barriers of race, language, class or creed. Above all, it needs an Indian face which is where I come in, i.e. Indian opera singers, producers, directors collectively getting together and presenting it and having the operas sung either in English or Hindi, if not any other regional language or at the very least with subtitles in English and another Indian language. This is the game changer and allied to having modern interpretations of the standard and operas in Indian settings – Traviata, Boheme, Rigoletto and Carmen are natural examples. This is a huge window of opportunity that must and will be seized.
How did you develop an interest in opera?
My mother is a classically trained pianist and introduced my brother and me at a very early age to the joys of Western Classical Music. Throughout my childhood there was music, both Indian and Western classical, ghazals, jazz and Broadway playing throughout the house. I also started taking piano lessons at the age of 10. Allied to this was the regular lunchtime broadcasts on All India Radio where classical music was played. One day, When I was 13, I heard this most incredible voice emanating from the radio. It was a tenor’s voice! I was completely taken aback and obsessed with this sound. To my great surprise, I found I could recreate it. That was the tipping point – from there on I just learned as many operatic songs and arias I could by listening to the broadcasts on the radio or TV or on records and CDs.
Where did you spend your childhood?
I was born in Patna and I stayed there till the age of 6. Then I moved to London where I was at prep school till the age of 10 after which I returned to Delhi where I completed my schooling at St.Columba’s. It was a unique cross-cultural experience and a very happy one.
Can you explain what is a tenor’s role in an opera?
George Bernard Shaw said that opera is where a tenor wants to make love to a soprano and the baritone gets in the way! Tenors usually are the romantic and heroic leads – they are usually the dream roles in any operas – leading men! They always have the best tunes and plenty of top notes! They usually also get the girl in the end after much suffering and tribulation. More than any other voice, they usually are the most prized voice in the opera and carry the entire production.
Is there anyone promoting opera in India?
There are a number of small to mid-scale outfits in the big cities, but that stands out as the home of opera in India is the NCPA in Mumbai with its magnificent Bhabha Opera House and the Symphony Orchestra of India. They truly have put India on the map internationally with top class productions, with international stars performing in India with local singers and a home grown orchestra in a magical and superlative setting. I have had the unique privilege and distinction of being the only Indian opera singer to have performed there.
Your most memorable performance?
Difficult to say – probably singing for the Festival of India at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC where I was a part of the official Indian contingent. It was a great honour representing my country in another country which I love and admire. The venue is one of the world’s greatest theatres and the Americans from the officials to the audiences couldn’t have been more gracious or appreciative. Above all, when I sang there, we were all united in a common experience where music broke boundaries and unified us – such is the power of music.
How was it performing in your own country?
There is no place quite like home – it’s always so special! There are so many friends here and it’s a joy to sing to one’s countrymen and share with them with pride, but also humility that they are not experiencing a foreign art form instead they have an Indian interpreter performing a universal medium of expression.
