The classical and cool Gehan is back on stage
View(s):By Shannon Salgadoe
Singer, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, Gehan Cooray, is a man who dons many hats. The Los Angeles-based multi-hyphenate is no stranger to the local classical music scene, having staged many concerts and recitals over the past few years.
This March will mark the third concert in his series, Classical and Cool, the first of which was performed back in 2019. The title was inspired by an article that was published in the Mirror Magazine of the Sunday Times that described his most recent concert as cool and classical, a sentiment which he thought aptly summed up his persona and vibe.
Gehan Cooray
A classical singer whose repertoire also includes musical theatre numbers, Gehan ventured into the unfamiliar terrain of jazz with his debut album in 2021, also titled Classical and Cool. Grammy Award-winning Sri Lankan musician Hussain Jiffry who collaborated on the album was the one who suggested adding some jazz to his Broadway and operatic numbers. “Jazz isn’t something that I personally gravitate towards so even in this upcoming concert, there will not be any jazz. But the album was just kind of an experimental adventure,” explains Gehan.
The upcoming concert will also see Norwegian pianist Torgier Kinne Solsvik accompany the baritone as well as perform a few solo works. Gehan first met Torgier in 2011 when he performed at the Russian Cultural Centre and reconnected with him last year on a Scandinavian tour. “He’s also very much of that classical and cool mindset, and he’s a classical pianist but he also believes, like me, that music should not be elitist and he works with all kinds of genres. He also plays for solo artists and opera singers so we are very much on the same wavelength mentally and artistically and that’s really not as common as you might think,” says Gehan.
The repertoire was selected in a collaborative process by both Gehan and Torgier. Torgier will be performing a few piano solos by Norwegian composers, such as Edvard Grieg, also one of Gehan’s personal favourites. He remarks that the Norwegian composers capture the aura of Scandinavian and Norse mythology, Grieg in particular capturing the magical fairy tale atmosphere.
On the operatic side, Gehan will perform arias by Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti and also reprise his role as Escamillo, the toreador in Bizet’s Carmen, which he most recently played last year in the Miami Music Festival’s production of the opera. Although the more dramatic pieces allow him to exercise his theatrical chops, like with the role of the bullfighter from Carmen, an amorous and passionate ladies’ man, the lighter numbers in the programme are reflective of the values he’s held since he was a child, he says.
Another highlight, he reveals, will be Wonderful, Wonderful Day from the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Sung by the bride on her wedding day, it is not the standard love song; it celebrates the moment and celebrates love in the context of nature in a world where almost all love songs have human beings as their focus – something Gehan finds difficult to relate to as an asexual man.
Gehan’s asexuality has also been the focal point in his feature film The Billionaire, based on George Bernard Shaw’s The Millionairess. The screenplay was adapted by Gehan who also produced, directed, and acted in the film which won the Burbank International Film Festival Award for Best Feature. “The film ended up being a representation of my sexuality and my love of nature and kind of always framing human relationships in a broader context. I feel like I like to do things that feel artistically true to me rather than becoming a more commercial-minded artist,” remarks Gehan.
The concert which is in aid of the Friends of Prisoners’ Children, pays tribute to the sense of wonder and imagination that children and teens possess. Having been involved with this charity for a while and having met the children, Gehan is in awe of their imagination and aspirations and is glad to have the opportunity to support them.
Classical and Cool 2023 will take place on Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. Tickets are priced at Rs 5000, Rs 3000, Rs 2000, and Rs 1000.
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