An Interview with DasJati’s first conductor

1. You were instrumental in bringing the DasJati project into existence. How did it happen?

When I ran Opéra Vista, I was asked to see whether it was possible to put together an opera based on an Indian story. Honestly, I googled to see who might have written one, and I came across Somtow's Ayodhya. Oddly, Somtow and I were already friends on Facebook, so I messaged him to see whether he'd be able to reduce Ayodhya to a chamber size. Somtow made the fatal mistake of saying that it would be much easier to write a new opera. He mentioned he had been thinking of writing an opera based on the Jataka Tale about the Silent Prince, and the opera was born.

2. Did you realize at the time that this would be the first Buddhist opera ever produced?

I don't think either of us realized it would become part of such a monumental opéra cycle. Shortly after the premiere Somtow mentioned the Das Jati project, and it took off.

3. What was your reaction on receiving the score?

Haha! I think I was just happy receiving parts of the score. We would receive a portion and directly send it to the singers. Honestly, though, I was amazed. Somtow had melded aspects of Indian Carnatic music, western classical, and other Asian styles to create a unique but taught work. It told the story beautifully and had such dramatic pacing. I was also impressed with the use of the small orchestra. He was able to extract so many colors from the forces we had at our disposal.

4. What were some of the difficulties in bringing the score to the performing stage?

At the time, our biggest difficulty was budget. We were a small upstart little start up company. We didn't have money to throw at problems, so we had to be smart.

5. At first Houston doesn't seem like the likeliest place for an opera like The Silent Prince to premiere. What was Houston's reaction?

I think Houston gets a bum rap at times. Houston has a large Indian community and the second largest Asian community after Los Angeles. That being said, most of our audience was a traditional opera going public. The reaction was thunderous, frankly. The audience loved the work.

6. How has the DasJati project impacted you personally and professionally?

The DasJati project has been an important one for Asian opera. We need more operas in the répertoire told from an Asian perspective that don't simply use Asian themes to create “exoticism”. As for me personally, I'm proud to be behind the genesis of the project, and I hope to be part of future DasJati cycles - especially if and when the cycle is promoted outside of Asia.