An Opera with Sri Lankan identity

Agni -the opera on fire by maestro Premasiri Khemadasa:

by Ranga Chandrarathne

Maestro Premasiri Khemadasa's latest opera, Agni, will go onboard the Lionel Wendt Theatre today. Although maestro uses the classical opera format for Agni, Agni is deeply rooted in the traditional melodies sprung from age-old folk recitals associated with guilds.

It will be a rediscovery of the legacy of life village and the heart-beat of the Sri Lankan spirit as traditional melodies and tones intermingle with fusion music of both oriental and occidental traditions, under the divine spell of an orchestra which dictates every single movement unfolding on the stage.

Perhaps, Agni would be a step towards realization of Sri Lankan music with an international flavour. Here what maestro Khemadasa attempts is to integrate Sri Lankan folk recitals and original melodies which have been part and parcel of the Agrarian village for centuries, into modern opera against the back drop of an orchestra.

This musical journey into the spirit of the village and the discovery of our innermost self would be an enchanting and novel experience for deserving Sri Lankan and international audience.

The opera is woven around early primitive human civilization in the ice age in which humans are denied of fire. A hunter named Soma is disappointed with primitive hunting. He is a musical representation of a man of culture, technology and civilization. At a great risk, Soma embarks on a journey in search of fire for the benefit of the entire humanity.

According to Agni, the fire is a luxury enjoyed only by the Divine and is not something that human beings should inherit. However, Prometheus the god of fire sends his sister, goddess of fire (Gini Devagana), to the earth with fire.

Meanwhile, Gods' Court penalized Prometheus on earth for robbing fire, which is a luxury exclusively enjoyed by the Gods. Soma and the Goddess of Fire started a journey to free Prometheus. The opera ends with the journey.

Soma the main character of the opera is a symbol of the man who dreams of development, culture and civilization. He drifts between reality and fantasy. Though he is the husband of Mihi Paba, he has been a Romeo in the past.

He is a centre of social evolution who would risk even his life in search of knowledge and experience. Goddess of Fire is Prometheus's sister who descended upon the earth from a perfect world because of her curiosity and likeness of life on earth.

On the contrary, Mihi Paba is a woman symbolizing the traditional woman and her forte is also the traditions and conventional emotions. She wishes that her progressive husband would realize his dreams and aspiration within the conventional family.

Another significant character in Agni is Kaala, symbol of youthfulness. He is a harbinger of modernity and characterizes the way in which traditional society perceive modern trends.

Yakadayo symbolizes the generation of blacksmiths who sprang after the discovery of fire and Gods are those privileged ones who enjoys divine luxuries and intervene in affairs of the human beings. Hunters and the farmers are ordinary citizens with conventional values.

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