‘Bandit Queen’ to debut in NYC

Phoolan Devi: The Bandit Queen, a multimedia chamber opera by Shirish Korde, a Uganda-born composer of Indian descent, will have its world premiere in New York City on June 26, with another show the next day.

With a libretto by playwright Anusree Roy and directed by Tom Diamond, the shows will be performed at the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theatre. They are co-presented by the Indo-American Arts Council and Da Capo Chamber Players.

The opera is a series of musically compelling and visually stunning scenes, a riveting dramatisation that explores real and reimagined events in the life of the notorious Phoolan Devi.

“Born into poverty, sold as a child bride, abducted by bandits, abused and victimised, imprisoned, elected to India’s Parliament and then tragically gunned down in the streets of New Delhi in 2001, the Bandit Queen was just 37 at the time of her death.” “Phoolan Devi’s life raises difficult and universal questions about violence and women,” said Korde.

“Her story is so compelling that it was imperative for me to expand my 2006 song cycle into this full-length opera, which only just begins to capture her extraordinary circumstances,” he said.

Aroon Shivdasani, founder and executive director of the Indo-American Arts Council said: “The energy and strength of Phoolan Devi is particularly powerful in the context of today’s awakening awareness of decades of brutality towards women.”

Korde’s compelling score is a distinctive synthesis of Asian and contemporary Western traditions — among them are Indian classical singing, opera, jazz and hip hop.

The award winning playwright/actor Anusree Roy has written a libretto that brings to life a woman of so many contradictions who polarised the Indian population. Performers include soprano Zorana Sadiq and Dashon Burton, bass baritone.

Phoolan Devi