Sukanya

Sukanya is an opera composed by Ravi Shankar, with libretto by novelist Amit Chaudhuri. It is based on the mythological tale of Sukanya from the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and combines Western operatic conventions with Indian vocal music, konnakol, and Indian instruments. It is Ravi Shankar's only opera and was left unfinished on his death in September 2012. British conductor and composer David Murphy, Shankar's collaborator on the project, finished the score using his detailed notes in 2017. Sukanya received its world premiere in May 2017 at the Royal Opera House in London. Composition history In 1995, Shankar began composing the opera after he felt inspired by the similarity between the mythological tale of Sukanya, found in the Hindu epic Mahabharata, and his own love affair with his wife, also named Sukanya. Aiming to create a "21st-century opera: a cross-cultural, total art work for a globalized world," Shankar worked on the piece till the end of his life. Instrumentation Apart from the Western orchestra, the opera makes use of Indian instruments like tabla, sitar, shehnai, and mridangam.