The Sweet Soprano
Meet UK-based Natasha Agarwal, the opera singer with a Mumbai connection.
In 2013, she was crowned Young Dancer of the Year at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London
When Mumbai saw its first full-fledged opera performed at the Royal Opera House, the production was met with packed audiences. Soprano Natasha Agarwal, who played one of the leading roles in Domenico Cimarosa’s II Matrimonio Segreto (The Secret Marriage), was as surprised as she was delighted. “There’s nothing like performing in Mumbai. The city has a buzz about it,” said Agarwal.
The first scene of the two-act comedy had Agarwal as Carolina sharing the stage with Sandeep Gurrapadi, an Indian American tenor playing the role of Paulino. The duo’s secret marriage must be hidden from Carolina’s strict father and no one must know they have spent the night together. A jumpy Paulino was countered wonderfully by the impishness Agarwal brought to her Carolina. Legendary soprano Renee Fleming is Agarwal’s inspiration. “She has the most beautiful voice, but is also such an expressive singer,” said the UK-based singer. Agarwal’s performance revealed that she manages to layer her performance too. Later in the show, once the comedy of errors seemed to be turning into a tragedy, her cheekiness was masterfully swapped with misery.
Agarwal was only four when she first went up on stage. In 2013, as a 17-year-old she was crowned Young Dancer of the Year at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London. She is now pursuing a Masters of Arts in Vocal Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Agarwal’s audition for the Royal Academy also won her favour with Patricia Rozario from the Giving Voice Society. Rozario, a Mumbai-born soprano based in the UK, was looking for an Indian or Indian-origin cast for the city’s first fullfledged opera and Agarwal seemed to fit right in.
Back in London, where she is performing in Judith Weir’s contemporary production, “The Vanishing Bridegroom” with the British Youth Opera company, Agarwal hopes that the Giving Voice Society will bring another opera production to Mumbai soon. “The fact that we performed four sell-out shows is proof that the interest is there from the audience members too,” she says.