Press Release
The Palace School, Jaipur, along with the French Embassy and the French Institute in India, and the Neemrana Music Foundation organised ‘Opera at the Palace’ at the Pritam Chowk in City Palace, Jaipur. The opera was directed and conducted by the Neemrana Music Foundation under the leadership of Aude Priya Wacziarg, Harmonie Deschamps, Phillipe Engels and Jasmin Martorell. Twelve young musicians from the Neemrana Music Foundation and the students of the Palace school performed during the event. The students were introduced to the nuances of opera singing during a two-day workshop organised at The Palace School before the final event.
The Chief Guest, on the occasion, was Governor of Rajasthan, Shri Kalraj Mishra. The Guest of Honour was MP Diya Kumari. Also present on the occasion was Mr Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, Country Director and Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs, French Embassy in India.
The Governor congratulated the young artists on their brilliant performance. He said that such events were an ideal platform to showcase the talent of young budding artists. He wished the participants luck in their future endeavours.
MP Diya Kumari expressed her delight at the international exposure this event gave to the students of the Palace School. She greatly appreciated the performance by the artists of the Neemrana Music Foundation. She also paid homage to Sardar Vallabhai Patel on his 146th birth anniversary.
Mr Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens emphasised the importance of music in bringing the French and Indian cultures together.
During the show, operas like – ‘Jean-Philippe Rameau, Les Indes Galantes’; ‘Jean-Philippe Rameau, Platée’; ‘Léo Delibes, Lakmé’; ‘Charles Gounod, Faust’; ‘Georges Bizet, Les Pêcheurs de Perles’, ‘Georges Bizet, Carmen’ and others were performed. Accompanying on the piano was Philippe Engel. The stage director was Yashraj Jadhav and Choir preparation was done by Canato Jimo. Apart from this tenor, Jateen Sharma was a special invitee. The members of the choir included – Harmonie Deschamps, Shambhavi Mishra, Jahnnobi Roy and Yashashvi Bhardwaj as Sopranos. Renie Mathiew, Navneet Kaur and Anuja Thirani as Mezzo-sopranos. Aditya Ojha, Jateen Sharma and Shubhansh Sharma as Tenors. Apart from this, Akash Gadamsetty, Anmol Talvar and Denis Thomas performed as Baritones.
This event was organized in commemoration of the agreement signed between The Palace School, the City Palace and the French Embassy and French Institute in India.