Indian American sings in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO: The annual Stern Grove Festival showcased a rare talent this year at its June 22 concert: an Indian American opera singer.Soprano Indira Mahajan, based in New York, is one of opera''s rising stars. In Scott Joplin''s three-act creation Treemonisha, she played the title role in the world premiere arrangement celebrating Juneteenth, an annual African American celebration.Treemonisha is the only surviving large-scale composition by the legendary ragtime composer, and this production also features the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, directed by Rick Benjamin and a local chorus directed by Lynne Morrow.This rendition of the opera, set against the bright sun and lush, beautiful Sigmund Stern Grove, attracted thousands of attendees of all ages and backgrounds, who camped on the lawn with picnic baskets, wine, blankets and chairs. Set in 1884 on a plantation in Arkansas near the Red River, among the poor black families of the area, the story is centred on Ned, a trustworthy slave, and Monisha, his wife, who find a baby girl under a tree. The couple lives on and looks after the plantation that was left to them after the owners, a white family, left the area after the slaves were set free.Treemonisha, after being adopted by the couple, grows up believing that the two are her real parents, who have gone to great lengths to instil in her a sense of pride and the importance of education. The opera begins with Treemonisha at age 18, just as she is about to embark on a career as a leader and teacher, as she is the only educated black American in the neighbourhood, and depicts her confrontations with members of her community who believe in superstition and sell "bags of luck" to ward off evil.Each act of the production offers the kind of song and dance that allows Joplin''s compositions to come alive. Mahajan sang with "flair and assurance" (San Francisco Chronicle), as she beautifully hit the high notes and carried off the rhythms.Mahajan began her foray into the world of music at the age of five as a violinist, and soon after, began vocal training with her mother. She holds a bachelor''s degree in music from Oberlin College and master''s degrees from Mannes College of Music and the Accademia Musicale Ottorino Respighi. She has performed in a wide range of operatic productions, including the works of Puccini, Mozart, Handel and Donizetti, as well as jazz composer Bobby McFerrin. Mahajan also has performed the role of Clara in Porgy and Bess, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Musetta in La BohÃ¨me.Joplin published Treemonisha in 1911 and spent the remainder of his life attempting to produce the opera professionally. Racism and apathy stopped Joplin''s attempts to stage Treemonisha, and despite his efforts, he died before he ever saw his opera fully produced and staged. Treemonisha was not fully produced until 55 years after Joplin''s death when, in 1972, the Afro-American Music Workshop of Morehouse College performed it at the Atlanta Memorial Arts Center.

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Indian American sings in San Francisco