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This fall, the chamber opera, RASA, was performed
at Holy Cross. Composed by Shirish Korde, chair of the music
department, the opera was directed by Lynn Kremer, chair
of the theatre department and choreographed by Professor
Daniel McCusker. RASA premiered at the Sonic Boom
Festival at the Miller Theater in New York City prior to
its run in Worcester. First staged at Holy Cross in 1991,
it was completely reworked for the recent
performances.
Inspired by the 1989 novel, Jasmine, by Bharati Mukherjee, the chamber
opera follows a young woman on her journey from her native India to America,
where she flees after the death of her
fiancé. The score is composed of music from many different elements of
vedic chant, Tuva-throat singing, and North Indian musical forms.
The appearances in New York went very well,
according to Kremer. "The audience was extremely enthusiastic and the cast and
crew were phenomenal," she said. "I have nothing but the highest regard
for them."
As for the future, she says, "For the moment, we are going to put it into
storage. We are in the process of making a CD-ROM and trying to collect
video footage
so we can begin the work of writing more grant proposals. But who knows,
it has been seven years since
we started this the last time. Things don't always happen on the time line
you project, but we are just thrilled to have been able to do it."
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