Another night of favourites with Menaka Singers Opera Ensemble
View(s):By Namali Premawardhane
Monday evening, 6 p.m., the gusty sounds of the sextet “Chi mi frena in talmomento” from Lucia Di Lammermoor by Donizetti pours out of Menaka de Fonseka-Sahabandu’s house, on a small by-lane off Ward Place. Fifteen young people are crammed in the living room, crowded around a baby grand piano, where Menaka plays, sings and conducts, all at the same time. There is barely a fortnight to the concert, but they are very relaxed. The rehearsal lasts no longer than an hour and after brief conversation about costumes and stage rehearsal the next day, most of the group heads home.
Barbara Segal
The Menaka Singers Opera Ensemble is preparing for another night of favourites with the Barbara Segal Opera. They will take the Lionel Wendt stage on June 23 at 7.30 p.m. The show promises to be good, not only because of Barbara’s presence, but also because of the uncommon experience the singers claim.
Samali Liyanage and Niran de Mel are barely in their twenties, but the galloping solos they sing in “Libiamo, Libiamo” (The Drinking Song) from Verdi’s La Traviata are part of their day in and day out. The rehearsal is far from perfect, but there is a maturity and subtlety in the singing that catches one off guard. The informal performance is, in fact, delightfully captivating and entertaining.
Samali is a final year undergraduate studying computer science at the University of Colombo with an ATCL (Associate of the Trinity College of London) under her belt and an LTCL (Licentiate of the Trinity College of London) on the way. She has been singing and playing the violin for roughly half her life.
Her favourite part of the programme is simply spending time with her colleagues. “Over the years, we’ve become like family,” she says, “these are the moments we treasure.”
Menaka, Samali and Niran are seated around a table with two other soloists, Ashan Algama and Emesh Wijewardena. True enough there are many inside jokes and lots of poking fun at each other. Samali is the serious one, Menaka says, and when she chooses to tell the boys off, they keep their silence. There is the exasperation grounded in mutual respect and love, that one often finds at a simple family meal.
But it’s not all a breeze. “It’s a lot of studying and research,” Menaka explains. Menaka is well-known in Sri Lanka’s classical music scene. A Fellow of the Trinity College London and a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music London, she has received the award of excellence in vocal western music by the SAARC Women’s Association of Sri Lanka, and the Savasangeetha Award. She has performed as a pianist and sung as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka ( SOSL) on numerous occasions and has also sung the role of Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen, staged in New Delhi. For 33 years, she has trained some of Sri Lanka’s best classical singers, among whom are likely to be those onstage on June 23rd.
“We’ve been working on some of this stuff for the past two years,” she explains. “It’s not just the music and the notes, but the emotional context, historical understanding, role playing and so much more that the singers have to be familiar with!”“It’s really strenuous,” Samali adds perspective. “You sing for ten minutes and feel like you’ve run a marathon! But at the end of the day, you have to make it look easy.”
Ashan, an architect by profession, admits that his love affair with music has been inconsistent. He has enjoyed stints training with Maryanne David and singing with the Revelations in addition to his work with Menaka. He has known “Aunty Menaka” for “donkeys’ years” he jokes. But it’s only now, that he is faced with the sheer amount of work required to prepare for this concert, that he is focused on realizing the full potential of his voice. He sings “Non piu Andrai” from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, at the June 23rd concert, but The Drinking Song is the piece he loves.
Hard at practice: Menaka with her young soloists. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Samali also has a clear preference for her “Doll Song” from Offenbach’s Contesd’Hoffman which is refreshing to her, in its silliness.
Niran on the other hand, can’t really say. He was Head Prefect and Choir Leader at St. Thomas’ College, and has just finished a degree in economics and finance from the University of London. He just might be considering a future in classical music.“Being able to give people something that they can enjoy and appreciate, and a good round of applause gives you a high,” he explains.
For Emesh, a law student and part-time vocal coach, the high comes from sharing a stage with the acclaimed Barbara Segal. He sings “Vogliate mi bene” from Puccini’s Madame Butterfly with Barbara.“It encourages me to perform at the same level as her,” he explains, “although the duet is b—– hard!”
Barbara Segal made her operatic debut in the role of Musetta in La Boheme at the Santa Magherita Ligure Opera Festival. Her repertoire includes roles as Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflote, Violetta in La Traviata, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor and Marguerite in Faust. She has been the principal singer in concerts in over 23 countries. The globe-trotting British singer moved to Sri Lanka in late 2004. Since experiencing the Boxing Day tsunami that destroyed her new home and the village around it, she has been inexplicably attached to the island.
For the last two years, Barbara has been working with the Menaka Singers’ Opera Ensemble, training individual voices in the tradition. The young soloists, are selected from among Menaka’s many voice students. They get masterclasses from the basics of voice production and breathing technique to stage presence and interpretation of music.
Among the list of soloists are also Dmitri Gunatilleka, Rachel Halliday, Jehan Gamalathge and Nishantha Warnakulasooriya. The performance will be accompanied by Menaka herself on piano and her daughter, Tiyani Sahabandu on violin. Included in the programme will also be pieces from Faust by Gounod, Pearl Fishers by Bizet, as well as works by Strauss and Lehar.
The programme is supported by the Earl de Fonseka Trust which promotes classical music in Sri Lanka, and Jetwing Colombo Seven.
Tickets priced at Rs.2000, 1500, and 1000 are available at The Lionel Wendt Theatre.