Review : Royally Classical with sparkling soprano Kishani Jayasinghe! 

The splendid performance by Asia's golden voiced soprano Kishani Jayasinghe left everyone in the fully packed auditorium of the Russian Cultural Centre awestruck! Together with the magnificent pianist Soundarie David Rodrigo the duo presented a fabulous evening of entertainment. 

It was the inaugural session of a series of recitals ‘Royally Classical’. The repertoire of this recital named Classically French, featured a combination of French classical songs and operatic Arias all of which had their own air of beauty and classic French elegance. Famous works by composers such a Hahn, Charpentier, Gounod, Duparc and Bizet were performed with absolute vocal control. Kishani with her dazzling smile and artistic charisma introduced the pieces and related each story with so much expression and emotion that the audience could relate to the feel of the song even though most of them could not really understand the language. She used her acting skills to project each story with much clarity. 

Starting with ‘Je veux vivre’ from "Romeo and Juliette", she went on to sing ‘Si mervers’ by Hahn and followed with ‘Au pays ou se fait la guerre’byDuparc which she said was one her favourites. Then she went on to ‘Les fille di Cadix’– Delibes which had a bouncy lightness and brought out the colour of the piece and was my favourite. Thereafter, she sang ‘De puise la jour’, Charpentier  from ‘Louise’, ‘L'enamouree’ by Hahn, ‘L'invitation au voyage’ by Duparc and finally the ‘Jewel song’ - Gounod from ‘Faust’ which seemed to be a favourite of the audience. 

The unassuming Soundarie with her gentle demeanour, who enjoys playing the piano in the background, and not too fond of the limelight, was rather reluctant to take the mic, but was eventually persuaded to do so. She explained that the intricate details of the music brought out the colour and mood, as intended by the composer and that every note had meaning and expression. 

A seasoned soprano, Kishani who sings in eight languages became the first Sri Lankan opera singer to perform at the Royal Opera House in London after she had completed her operatic training at the Royal Academy of Music. She performed for the 60th birthday of HRH Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, and was presented to Queen Elizabeth II as a Commonwealth Representative for the Arts at St. James’ Palace. 

Kishani’s rendition of Danno Budunge very recently, caused a huge commotion within a representation of an identifiable minority, mainly due to ignorance and a total lack of knowledge of musical diversity. It was evident that this incident was still fresh in the minds of the audience who spoke to the Daily Mirror. 

Kishani 

Soundarie and I have so much in common and our lives have run along parallel lines for such a long time that we decided we would like to celebrate that with a concept new to Sri Lanka. In addition we wanted it to be a repertoire that Soundarie and I both loved. French repertoire fit the bill perfectly! 

Soundarie 

As there’s something incredibly beautiful about French repertoire, it really requires skill, and the ability to glide around from note to note from phrase to phrase, to make the music flawless and elegant. 

Here are some comments from the audience. 

Kumar de Silva 

I actually was in paradise for one hour. I was so moved and almost in tears. I’ve seen so many concerts in Paris but this out beats all of them. French is like my first language and I understood every word. I could go directly into the spirit and the mood of what she was singing. Although I’ve heard about her, I’ve never had the chance to experience her live. Kishani is a national asset. We have to value her and treasure her. I saw her, on YouTube, doing a fabulous rendition of Danno Budunge on Independence Day and I thought it was fantastic! Although itwas a different version of what we know, I didn’t think there was anything wrong in how she sang it. She gave it a completely different dimension altogether. As a Sri Lankan I’m very proud of her. 

Mano Chanmugam 

The show couldn’t have been better. There was so much coordination between the two. It was so perfect, the whole presentation was marvelous. It was opera at its best! I am the one who got her to sing Danno Budunge on Independence Day, so I am very sad about the situation that prevailed. Anyway she got 252,000 hits for the song and so many people in America, England and Australia said it was a wonderful rendition of the piece. 

Illika Karunaratne 

All this criticism in the recent past stems from sheer ignorance. I think she is excellent. She’s done a fantastic job bringing opera back to Sri Lanka and it was a joy to hear her sing. 

Savithri Rodrigo 

It’s wonderful to have world class opera singers here in Sri Lanka, performing for us. The very fact that Kishani is Sri Lankan warms our hearts. The venue also added to the intimacy of the repetoire and that’s fantastic. I’m glad we had an appreciative audience. Soundarie was as always, her extraordinary self. She was the perfect foil for Kishani’s brilliance. 

Dr. Bimantha Perera 

This is not my first show. I’ve seen Kishani performing. It is definitely a very vibrant and super selection of songs. She’s far better than the foreigners I’ve seen perform. I really liked the Jewel song and ‘Je veux vivre’fromRomeo and Juliette. So proud that she’s a Sri Lankan. 

Sonali Dias 

It’s such a great privilege to see how talented our Sri Lankans are, and to watch her grow into a world class soprano who performs all over the world. She is an inspiration to many young artistes, and no doubt will motivate them to reach where she is today. 

Mrs. Piyadasa 

I’m Kishani’s aunt and I’m so very proud of her because I’m the one who pushed her to develop this talent. She would come and sing to me quite often. I always enjoy her concerts and I think she is wonderful. All this controversy does not bother her. She is a strong girl. Soundarie was also marvelous. The two of them put together produced a fabulous show! 

Shiranee De Livera 

This is the first time I’ve watched Kishani perform live. She was really fantastic. Excellent show! What was done to her after the Danno Budunge incident was very unfair, but everybody has been so supportive towards her, and I think her popularity has increased. Today was a shining example of her singing. 

Reviewed by Niro Waidyaratne 
Photographs by Nisal Baduge