A tender age coupled with inordinate talent is the given criteria for one to be considered a ‘prodigy’. Though the luxury of being introduced to her eventual passion at an early age evaded her, the musical maestro to be in Dmitri Gunatillaka did not let that stop her from achieving incredible feats in the field of music and singing.  Many who pursue their artistic flairs discover their ability very early on in life, and seldom have a reluctance to engage in it. Dmitri who was ‘forced’ to learn singing under the late Ruwani Seimon, quickly relinquished her distaste for the subject and embraced it with all the enthusiasm of one who would colloquially be referred to as ‘a natural’. And once this natural ability was let loose, its torrential flow was difficult to suppress.

After discovering this hidden ability, the first time it made a public appearance was at the late Ruwani Seimon’s show “Pop, Rock and Jazz” where the hindrance of stage fright was stripped, and she took to stage performance like a duck to water ending up with her touring other countries.

“I was terrified to be on stage” chuckles an inherently modest Dmitri “but once I got over that, I was told that I took to performance quite naturally”. However to believe this would be to accept an equivocal account of her talent, as she choreographed the entire Sinhala segment of her first show with her knowledge of Kandyan dancing at her disposal,  which, needless to say, bears staunch testimony to her ability.

Dmitri started singing by the initiation of a teacher, Ms. Antoinette and the guidance and rigorous vocal training of the late Ruwani Seimon, who made her into the performer she is today. She is now a LTCL holder of Trinity College London (singing recital) under the tutelage of Menaka De Fonseka Sahabandu, who she owes much to for teaching her most of what she knows about singing. Dmitri is now a vocal trainer for beginners. As a student of Bishop’s College, Dmitri was the choir leader and the President of the English Drama Society. She has been placed first in solo singing competitions at school and in All Island Competitions, as well a gold medalist at the Asian Choir Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia in the year 2007. She was introduced to the world of theatre by Dilip Gabadamudalige when was asked to take part in his musical ‘The Revenge’ in 2008, which was directed by Jerome de Silva, which gave her the opportunity to meet other renowned theatre personalities.

There on she has been in productions such as The Sound of Music in 2008 (playing the role of Maria) and under the direction of Jehan Bastians and Neidra Williams productions such as A Christmas Carol (2010), Leading Ladies (2011), Yes Hon. Minister (2012) and A Christmas Wish (2013) in which she not only acted but also took the role of choral director. She was also part of the recent of production Reality Show (2015) directed by Jehan Aloysius in May.

Persistently keeping at her passion, Dmitri made enormous strides in quick time, allowing her to live one of her many dreams playing the role of Christine Daae in the Workshop Players rendition of the world renowned musical “The Phantom of the Opera” (2014). Though it was a lead role in challenging play (to say the least) she holds that it is not the biggest mountain she had to climb. She gives that honour to her role in the musical “Evita” (2012) where she played a character of Eva Peron who altered age with the change of each song.

The next on her checklist of feats to tick off, is to hold her very first recital, which this writer is certain is another dream come true. And that dream is in the offing and is about to materialize on stage at the Russian Cultural Centre. Though Dmitri’s large portfolio needs no further pumping, she views it as a chance to showcase her talents, and pay homage to the hands that guided her this far. However, that is not the only objective of her maiden recital. Though usually not forthcoming with her philanthropic tendencies, she highlights the fact that the proceeds of her show will go towards the Child Development Clinic of the Professorial Unit at Lady Ridgeway Hospital.

As though piling on these achievements didn’t seem impossibly time consuming, Dmitri is also an LLB holder from the University of London (External) and after completing her Attorney at Law examinations, is now making the patient wait to be called to the Bar. “I guess this is an opportunity for me to showcase everything I’ve learnt up to now and see what the next step in my career is. But this is also to improve the Child Development Clinic to aid children with autism. These wards have provision to develop the child as a whole and not just to cure a particular defect. There will be segments with Menaka Sahabandu’s junior choir, in keeping with the underlying objective of the show, which is to involve children” she says with the youthful exuberance befitting one about to take on a new chapter in her life.

The recital will feature number of items ranging from classical and Broadway to jazz, opera and duets with guest artists, and is set to take place on the 1st of August at the Russian Cultural Centre.

Show details 

- 1st August at 7pm at the Russian cultural centre. Ticket Rs.1000
- Tickets available at, Nelu's Advertising, Nugegoda (contact- 0112852820 / 0777315995) and at Kent, Colpetty (contact - 0112448844 / 0718734728)

By Jehan Gunasekara