Acclaimed Bollywood filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is excited about his debut stage production, which premiered in Paris this week.
'A Flowering Tree', an opera based on a classic Indian folk tale by famous Kannada writer and scholar AK Ramanujan, will be on at the city's Le Chatelet theatre until May 13.
"The entire experience has opened a whole new window in my mind. Staging is something I have worked on for the first time and I was excited like a little kid," said 48-year-old Bhardwaj, who directed the opera set to a musical score by composer and conductor John Adams.
"The story revolves around just three main characters - a prince, a girl called Kumudha, and the narrator. Within that we tried to explore a number of creative elements like using the choir as props and puppets by Dadi Pudumjee. The sets are very minimalist and it is through movements that we are able to convey a sense of space," added the 'Omkara' director.
The two-act opera was first commissioned as part of the Vienna New Crowned Hope Festival to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth and uses Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' as its model.
"It is a magical tale of a girl transforming into a flowering tree. The ethos and soul of the production is very Indian. Folk tales have their own charm and tackle major themes but in a very subtle way," said Bhardwaj, who was in London during a break from rehearsals to complete mixing a song for his upcoming Bollywood release 'Haider'.
