ON A HIGH NOTEBel Canto - Kavita Baliga may not be a native of the city, but with her magical voice, she is currently a part of A.R. Rahman's musical conservatory. A survivor by all means, the immensely talented opera singer opens up to Divya Nair on her journey over the years.
On her interest in opera singing
My Hindustani teacher suggested that I join my high school choir to get an idea of both styles of music; East and West. I absolutely adored my choir teacher, and after starting private voice lessons, I eventually applied to university for vocal performance. My inspiration when I was really young was probably Julie Andrews (which sounds totally cheesy) but The Sound of Music was my favourite film till I was in my teens. Then when I saw Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyed Webber in San Francisco, I was totally hooked.
On battling cancer at an early age
The experience of going through cancer treatment was ironically the most inspiring and motivating factor in my life. It made me realize the true incredible capacity of human beings. Treatment really motivated me to live each day as if it were my last and it really encouraged me to LIVE. I tried to do things that were outside the box - things that would have made me feel uncomfortable before treatment, like acting in UCI's production of The Vagina Monologues which ended up being an unforgettable experience.
The experience of working in Rahman's Music Conservatory
It's been the most fulfilling and exciting experience of my life. My favourite experience working with AR thus far was on Shekhar Kapur's short film Passage. I sung the aria from that film at the premiere in Venice, Italy, during the Venice Film Festival. The whole experience was overwhelming and to be honest, completely terrifying. I loved every minute of it! Since I've been in Chennai, I've done a lot of background work for AR's film scores and if you ever hear an ethereal operatic voice in the background of any of his Hindi or Tamil songs, that's probably me.
On opera singing in Chennai
Although for the most part it's quite a foreign genre for people in India, the audience for western classical music is definitely developing as we speak. Also, I was shocked at how quickly some of my students have picked up the operatic style of singing. Students have such a fantastic ear to pick up new styles and genres. Once people are more exposed to western classical music, fantastic things are going to happen not only in the western classical world, but also with the possibility of fusion music and collaborations.
Future Plans
I definitely believe in taking one day at a time. I will stay in the same place as long as my criteria are being fulfilled which are:
A. Am I benefiting others?
B. Am I learning from the experience and benefiting from it myself?
C. Is my career progressing?
If the answer is yes to all of the above, I'll stay. If at some point it starts to shift, I'll leave. Right now, it's a happy and firm YES.
4 comments:
Good interview, dearest! You're getting the hang of this, I see.
Great interview! Nice pic!!
You're becoming quite the celebrity !
Enjoy life !
great interview, kavi! and GREAT criteria. i've been trying to put together my own as of late, was great to read someone else's and nod my head along instead of furrowing my brow :)
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