Some here may find it interesting to note news of an opera production,
Padmavati (French, originally composed 1914-18 by Albert Roussel), now
enjoying a revival at the Spoleto Festival in Italy. It's not Indian
classical music, but it's an opera spectacle with diverse Indian
elements (notably including dance, not to mention an elephant); and a
story with an olden Indian setting.
Here's the New York Times review:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/arts/music/28fest.html?hp
And an excerpt:
<< . . . “Padmavati” was an effort to remain true to what the festival
has prided itself on: presenting the unexpected, the unusual, the new.
“It’s a piece that everybody’s always talking about but nobody’s ever
doing,” said Emmanuel Villaume, the conductor. “I can’t figure out why
people don’t want to program it.”
Mr. Villaume, a native of France, speculated that presenters might be
intimidated by its half-man, half-beast quality — it’s as much a
ballet as an opera — and that the French are “bad at defending their
own repertoire.”
