The Ramayana. A contemporary opera tale. By Emma Chedid.

Summary

An epic dating back thousands of years

Synopsis A story of…

Creative intentions

Adaptation Structure and characters Musical configuration Staging and Movement work

Visual design Creative force

Contacts

An epic dating back thousands of years The Ramayana (“the journey of Rama”) is one of the

most ancient love stories in the history of humanity. It is one of the most widely performed, told and adapted

tales across the globe.

The Ramayana recounts the god Vishnu’s incarnation as a man, Rama, in order to

reestablish the dharma, the cosmic law which preserves the balance of Creation, and

which is under threat from the king of the demons. This epic, sacred tale from Vedic

India has been performed every year for the past 2300 years in India and across the

whole of Asia in various traditional art forms : such as kathakali, baratha natyam,

shadow theatre from Indonesia and Kerala, and khmer ballet amongst others.

Performances take place in a variety of venues ranging from village squares, where

the local children take on the role of the army of monkeys, to national theatres. The

24000 verses are performed over the course of several days – the Ramlillas of

Benares and Ayodhya last for a month and a half - and culminate in the Dussehra

Festival, during which the effigy of the demon Ravana is burnt, after being finally

destroyed by Rama.

The Ramayana is a classic children’s book and theme for puppet shows in Europe. In

the story, prince Rama is seen as the archetypal Prince Charming. The Ramayana has

been turned into manga series for television channels in India, Japan, the United

Kingdom, and Spain. French audiences were also treated to a feature film version of it

from Indonesia, with « Opera Jawa » by Garin Nugroho. In the USA, an animated

feature film version of it was made by Nina Paley, entitled « Sita sings the blues ».

Agnès B was the film’s patron and it won awards at the Annecy Animated Film

Festival, All its various versions have continued to nourish the collective imagination.

This is the first time the

Ramayana has been

adapted as an opera tale.

Rama and Lakshmana - “Dead I am dead” - Sita’s abduction

Rama is righteousness itself. He is the epitome of virtue, and respect for the law and for others.

He symbolizes the Spirit, Light and Universal Love

His brother, Lakshmana, incarnates the Protection of all that is most precious in the Universe

Synopsis The Dharma cosmic order has come under under threat from Ravana, the demon king.

Only the god Vishnu, the Protector of Creation, can destroy him, if he is incarnated as

a mortal.

He enters this world in the form of 4 brothers born to king Ayodhya and his 3 wives,

each of whom is unaware of their divine essence. The elder brother is prince Rama,

the most virtuous of them. A guru leads him into the forest in order to initiate him into

the sacred mantras or Vedas, and divine weapons, in readiness for his combat with

the first of the demons. On the way back, Rama wins the competition organized by

king Janaka, and earns himself the heart and hand in marriage of the king’s adoptive

daughter, Sita, the Daughter of the Earth.

The king of Ayodhya chooses Rama to be his successor. His 3rd wife reminds him

about the promises he made: to put her son, Bharata, on the throne. She orders Rama

to be banned, and he promptly parts with his brother Lakshmana and Sita.

In the jungle, just as the two brothers decide to protect the ascetics who are being

harassed by demons, Bharata greets them with the news of the death of their father,

killed, unwittingly, as a result of a his mother’s plotting. He asks Rama to become

king. Rama refuses as, thanks to his step-mother and her ability to « see into the

distance », he has found his true place on earth at long last: the protector of the

virtuous.

At this point, Sita is abducted by Ravana, the demon king, unsatisfied by his 300

wives. Rama, ever virtuous and obedient, is beside himself with grief. He rebels

against the gods and vows their destruction, but his brother makes him see reason

and they set off in search of Sita. With help from Hanuman and an army of monkeys

and bears, they make it to the island of Lanka where Sita is being held captive.

The war of the worlds breaks out. Ravana stubbornly refuses to free Sita, and in

doing so loses his friends, brothers and sons. Rama, aware that he is an instrument of

the gods, kills him in a duel. Sita is freed, but Rama rejects her, claiming that she has

sided with the devil. She calls upon the gods to bear witness to her purity and hurls

herself into the sacrificial fire. The god Brahma arises from it, asks Rama to account

for his own actions and reveals his true nature to him.

Sita, Daughter of the Earth - “Is he born?” - Sita’s prayer to her mother

Sita symbolizes Nature, and its Harmony and Beauty.

She only comes into existence through her association with Rama and what he represents.

A story of... Love Between Sita and Rama, Rama and his brothers, Rama and his father, his step-

mother, Rama and his people, Hanuman, and Rama’s relationship with the animal

world. The story poses the following question: what does love mean?

Inner journey Rama is the prototype of the « kind boy », who is sent into the earthly

world outside. Here, the suffering he encounters will bring about his interior

transformation, which will in turn engender the transformation of the exterior world by

reestablishing harmony there. He then returns to his interior state in order to discover

its universality. Rama loves, and suffers. He rebels against his plight before accepting

it and taking action. He switches from unawareness to awareness, and in this respect,

Rama is just like any other human being.

A universal message for today The Ramayana resonates with us on many different levels. On the inner level, we

encounter the battle between the ego (or the mind) and soul, or between our will and

our ability to let go. On the universal level, the Ramayana tells us that between Rama,

the Spirit, and Sita or Matter, can be found Love. From out of their union Creation is

born, full of harmony and beauty. The desire to seize this Matter for the immense joy it

alone leads to the destruction of Creation and, in turn, of oneself.

The « dharma » that Vishnu restores on Earth is none other than the respect for this

universal law in order to ensure lasting Creation. The echo this has with the overriding

hunger for material wealth in today’s world, together with the threat it poses for the

survival of our planet and the ensuing emptiness of our existence, makes the

Ramayana a contemporary work in every sense of the word.

The Ramayana reaches out to us at our most intimate and

universal levels. Neither ancient nor contemporary,

it is an eternal work.

Ravana - The multi-headed Demon King - “Oh abyss”

Ravana is rich and powerful. His palaces are home to 300 wives but still he is not satisfied,

His egotism leads him to the destruction of all around him, and himself.

Creative intentions On discovering the Ramayana and taking in all its different dimensions, I had only one wish: to share it with my contemporaries.

There was no question of plagiarizing India or indulging in a pale imitation of a Bollywood musical. I wanted to make the story relevant to our own culture.

The common thread that guided me throughout the creative process was that of bridging the gap between India and Europe. In doing so, I turned to the various Indian art forms (music, traditional theatre, dance, and singing) and blended them with my own European culture, based on classical music, and also pop music to name a few… This enabled me to give the project a shape of its own by conveying its codes, essence and messages, but without losing sight of the original text.

From out of this came the adaptation of the libretto, songs, sounds, narrative elements, scene writing, staging and artistic direction.

My aim is for all the various forms of artistic and human collaboration to stem from this creative drive, sense of openness and encounter between two “hemispheres”.

Emma Chedid.

The demoness, Ravana’s sister in love with Ratia - “Come into my garden”

Adaptation Libretto

The structure and philosophy of the original text have been maintained.

The story ends at the same point at which what is considered the oldest of the tale’s different versions ends.

The story advances by switching between the different narrative tableaux. The character of the narrator has been maintained. These tableaux will be acted out using shadow theatre, dialogue and songs, as well as choreography.

The lyrics of the songs are rich in imagery and allegories, in keeping with the poetry that lies at the heart of the Ramayana.

(«My heart is weary of waiting Poor bird how he trembles » an extract from “Is he born?” «Rama is a kingdom where souls flourish His love is of gold purer than the dawn His heart is a garden where mine flourishes» extract from “Release me”)

Music and orchestrations The melodies and arrangements of the songs illustrate different moments in the emotional journeys of the characters. The songs presented themselves from musical repertories that would be the most effective in conveying them, and draw upon musical influences ranging from Indian music to opera, pop, reggae and dub amongst others.

(« Is he born? », which centers on the heart’s fragility, uses the bhairavi scale of classical Bollywood love songs. The mood of « You made a vow », the confrontation between the King and Queen which determines Rama’s destiny, comes from Verdi’s Forza Del Destino. « Come into my garden » in which Ravana’s sister attempts use her charms over Rama, is a reference to Kaa, the snake, in the Jungle Book. The dark-sounding chords in « Oh Abyss », the demon song comes from the trip-hop genre. The repetitive construction in 9 phrases of « You are », during which Rama’s true identity is revealed to him, comes from devotional hindu singing, notably from the Vishnu chants…)

Some of the narrative tableaux will be orchestrated so as to provide the backdrop for the choreographies and shadow theatre scenes.

The songs have been adapted, written and composed by Emma Chedid.

The show is in 2 acts.

T

The king of Ayodha and 3rd wife - “You made a vow” - The king pleads in vain in the room of tears

Structure and characters 14 songs, and one vocal section

What is at stake. Rama’s birth, and boyhood. His arrival at Sita’s palace (storyteller, mime and shadow choreography)

1. Sita « Is he born ? »

2. The Rama/Sita duo « Joyousness and sadness » (choreography)

The king wants to crown Rama. The 3rd wife hears of this (storyteller, and shadow mime)

3. The King and Queen Duo « You made a vow »

Rama goes into exile. Sita and Lakshmana in the forest (storyteller)

4. « The song of the Ascetics » (choreography + shadow mime)

Rama goes to protect the ascetics from the demons. The 4th brother announces the King’s death and asks Rama to take his place (scenes)

5. Rama « Dharma »

Rama will return once he has achieved his mission with the ascetics. A demoness falls in love with Rama (scenes)

6. The demoness « Come into my garden » (choreography)

Rama rejects her, the demoness asks her demon brother, Ravana to abduct Sita. Sita disappears, Rama plunges into despair (scenes)

7. Rama « Dead I am dead »

Lakshmana and Rama go off in search of Sita and discover a packet belonging to him at the home of the

Monkeys (storyteller, shadow mime, scene)

8. Hanuman : « I, Son of the Wind » (choreography)

Interval

Sita, in prison, receives a visit from Ravana (scene, Ravana as shadow)

9. Sita « Release me »

Ravana gives her 2 days to offer herself up to him or he will kill her. Hanuman finds Sita (scenes)

10. Ravana « Oh abyss » (shadow choreography)

A battle starts up between Rama’s allies and the demons. They are soon overcome (storyteller, shadow gestures)

11. Rama « I am no more than a man »

Rama kills Ravana and finds Sita once again (scenes)

12. Sita « Is it really you ? »

Rama rejects her. She throws herself into the sacrificial fire. Brahma appears from it and asks Rama to account for his actions(scenes)

13. Rama « I am no more than a king »

Brahma reveals to Rama his true nature (scene)

14. Brahma « You are »

Rama and all the other characters become aware of who and what Vishnu is (scene using acapella)

A full version will be made available on CD. Characters (actors and singers) : Sita, Rama, the King of Ayodhya, the Queen, the Ascetics, the Demoness (and her clones), Hanuman and the Monkeys, Ravana, Brahma and the Storyteller are one and the same character (storytelling and songs) Characters (actors) : Lakshmana, Baratha

Brahma. Teller of Rama’s story - “You are” - Rama’s revelation

Musical configuration

Actors and Voices

All performers must be able to dance, act, dance, and in some cases, do acrobatics. Apart from the actors playing the roles of Rama and Sita, all performers play several roles.

The character of Sita must be of Indian origin. Auditions will have to be done in France, drawing from the Indian, Sri Lankan, Mauritian and La Réunion communities.

The storyteller plays the role of Brahma.

Musicians There will be a small orchestra, bringing together musicians of Western and Indian origin. It will be directed by a “conductor”, and he or she will need a broad outlook in order to blend the 2 universes together. The conductor might also double up as instrumentalist.

The musicians will have to be multi-instrumentalists, and this goes for the Indian musicians. The Indian musicians have a sufficient grounding in Western music to be able to adapt to the project, or alternatively are western instrumentalists who have studied in the Indian gharana.

Indian instruments : sarangi – bhajan – tampura - sitar – tabla – dhol ; Western instruments : guitar - bass – percussion – keyboards and samplers.

The string elements will be played on keyboards.

Work on sound design will have to begin in advance, in preparation for the different sequences. Instruments will have to be found to satisfy the diverse needs, as well as a sound quality which retains an acoustic feel, even on the keyboards.

Staging Shadow theatre on a human scale.

Indian theatre will provide the inspiration for the staging. It will be semi-circular with the musicians on stage right, storyteller on stage left, and the actors and singers centre-stage. Upstage will be a piece of material stretched between two uprights for the shadow theatre and projection of the different decors.

This piece of material, a screen separating two worlds, will enable the following :

- interaction between light and dark, the visible and invisible

- creation of Chinese shadow theatre decors or video projections

The screen falls three times, at decisive moments in the tale, rather like a blanket concealing an illusion that fades away, or the skin of a snake that is no longer of any use.

It might be skin that is struck, for example, or a gigantesque sari which someone wraps themselves up in, a wall to be clung to, or simply a frontier to be crossed.

It will be lit by rear-projection, and will take on different tones or simply disappear, according to the needs of the different tableaux.

Movement work This will function on many different levels :

- during the narration, when the actors mime or dance different parts of the story using shadow theatre

- during certain songs, in order to work on the expressivity of the singers’ different gestures or to develop choreographies : in the 2nd song « Joyousness and Sadness », inspired by Indian marriage ceremonies ; in the 4th song « Song of the Ascetics », using rotation-based movements ; in the 6th song « Come into my Garden » via the multiplication of demonesses ; in the 8th song « I, Son of the Wind », taken from Punjabi dances ; and in the 10th song « Oh Abyss » in order to illustrate the madness and fantasies of the devil

- in relation to the acting style, using as its source of inspiration the gestural vocabulary of kathakali, and other Indian dance forms, thereby engaging the body, hands, and eyes, for example

The choreographer must be able to link these 3 universes together. He or she will have to be capable of devising contemporary work drawing on elements of yoga and Indian dances (kathak, baratha natyam). References include Shantala Shivalingappa, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Damien Jalet and Akram Khan. The choreographer’s role is primordial.

Visual design Decors

The decors will be conjured up by video projections. In graphical terms, the aim is to create a sparse, pared-down space. This will be done using simple, graphical forms taken from the shapes of traditional Indian architectural and pictorial motifs, as well as geometrical forms.

Shadow puppetry will be used in the portrayal of certain of the Chinese shadow theatre sequences showing movement (such as when Rama, Sita and Lakshmana arrive in the forest, only to be greeted by demons). Also, video projection will be used :

- to create a shower of sanskrit letters raining down from the catwalk above onto Rama during the period of his youth, thereby illustrating the integration of the Veda mantras and sutras.

- to show the transformation, with Sita’s touch, of the forest’s prickly leaves into flowers (cf the kolams made by the Indian women opposite)

- to represent Ravana’s watchful eye over Sita through the bars of her prison cell

Colours and lighting The different tableaux are principally monochromatic, interspersed with chromatic peaks in order to illustrate the dawns and dusks that correspond to interior changes or the presence of demons.

The storyteller will be lit by one light.

Lighting will be used to symbolize Vishnu’s divine presence on earth, and the junction between the earthly and celestial worlds.

Vishnu will be represented by a column of white light in the prologue for the incarnation of god on Earth, and in the duel between Rama and the demon. Vishnu will also be represented by the light of small candles carried in the hands of the actors on-stage and in the auditorium at the point at which each of them comes to realize that the energy of their god lies within each of them. They will then be placed on the floor of the stage as the actors go off-stage, composing the mandala « Ohm ».

The moment of victory, the junction between the earth and sky, will be created by swirling lights ascending and descending.

Blackouts will be used to rhythmic effect in the piece on several occasions, marking the passage from one « movement » to another, or the turning of a page.

Costume and make-up design Rama and Sita are princes first, then beggars (dressed in tree bark). They thus go from being magnificently dressed to sparsely dressed. We will be retaining the fluidity of lines that characterizes Indian clothing (cf Akram Khan opposite).

Face-painting and make-up will adorn the faces of the actors. No masks will be used. Ravana will have strong make-up in accordance with kathakali tradition, as well as clothing which befits his opulence.

Hanuman, son of the god of Winds. Head of the army of Monkeys. He is the incarnation of devotion - “I, Son of the Wind” inspired by the punjabi bhangras

Creative force: Emma Chedid. Emma Chedid is an author, illustrator, and composer. She has published numerous books, particularly in the field of young person’s literature. These include « le Garçon Transparent » a recording of which was made with the voice of Julie Depardieu. As sound designer, she has worked for the Ateliers de Radio France. As artistic director and video director, she has collaborated on shows by Louis Chedid, Calogero (Circus), As Animals, and Carla Bruni.

She has a passion for Indian art forms, and has studied baratha natyam, kathak, and hindustani singing. She practices and teaches yoga.

Choreographer and dancer: Revanta Sarabhai Revanta Sarabhai is a member of the famous dance dynasty of the Sarabhai’s (he is Malika Sarabhai’s son). He graduated in the classical Indian dance style of Bharatanatyam and has trained in various other Indian classical, folk and contemporary forms. Since the age of 14, Revanta started experimenting with choreography, combining aspects of classical dance with innovative contemporary movement. He dances around the world with international artists (India, England, Netherland, France...). Musical director: Dondieu Divin Dondieu Divin is a pianist, violinist and arranger French born September 20, 1968 in Avignon. Enriching his classical training more African influences, he played between 1993 and 1998 with Touré Kunda, for which he arranged and co-wrote the album "Mouslai." Accompanist and orchestrator of Brigitte Fontaine (including albums Rue Saint Louis en l'Île and Libido), this musician who divides his time between India and France is also the founder of Talam group.

Contact :

Production and communication AugurArt Vanessa Ceroni +336 16 77 75 47

vanessa.ceroni@augurart.com Audrey Hadorn +336 26 64 25 49

audrey.hadorn@augurart.com