Agonic to ignite

Eric Illayapparachchi

Agni Opera is more than a drama set to music. It is a highly poetical drama revealed through operatic voices, orchestration, choreography and costumes. Music, poetry and drama have worked together to make it a reality before the Sri Lankan audience.

To see the birth of this grand art form called opera, we have to go the year 1600. At the end Renaissance period and the beginning of modernity, the intellectual city of Florence gave birth to opera.

Soon it was spread to Venice and other cities in Europe including the city of Prague where Mozart composed several operas. Agni marks the culmination of Maestro Khemadasa's long musical carrier.According to Professor Sucharitha Gamlath, Agni is a musical miracle.

The script, which is known as the libretto in the language of opera, is written by Eric Illayapparachchi, a poet, novelist and art critic.

He has used classical poetical language to make it a rare poetical delight.The theme of introduction of fire to the human world, played by nearly twenty players including Indika Upamali, Krishan Wickremasinghe, Subudhi Lakmali, Sumudu Pathiraja, Deshaka Sampath and Biyanka Hansani.Agni will be staged at Dharmaraja College Auditorium, Kandy on 23.