St. Paul-based singer, composer and musician Ritika Ganguly brought together a gifted group of artists and musicians for a new folk opera that premiered at the Luminary Art Center in Minneapolis on Friday and Saturday.
Like classical operas from the Western canon, South Asian folk operas tell stories through songs and lyrics. In “The Mushroom that Swallowed the Moon Whole,” Ganguly took that form and juxtaposed it with different styles of music and performance to create a work that reinvented tradition.
From left, May Klug, Ritika Ganguly, Cameron Fassett, Vusumuzi Zulu, Abhinav Sharma and Sofia Padilla perform in “The Mushroom that Swallowed the Moon Whole” at the Luminary Art Center in Minneapolis on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Sheila Regan / Special to the Pioneer Press)
Keeping with South Asian folk opera traditions, the piece featured a narrator who delivered monologues near the beginning and at the very end of the work. Celebrated storyteller Vusumuzi Zulu took on that role, speaking in heightened, poetic text, accompanied by May Klug’s piano playing. Zulu had an immense presence on stage, and his words added weight and helped shape the emotional context of the story.
The work also branched out from its base form into other modalities. With Bengali folk and Hindustani classical music, musical theater, puppetry, sand art and poetry, the performance took flight with compelling sound, engaging rhythms and rich visuals.
Ganguly composed the music along with librettist/guitar player Shinjan Sengupta, who wrote thoughtfully crafted, rhyming lyrics that drove the story and the music. They were joined by a team of musicians who learned the music by ear rather than a written score. Abhinav Sharma’s complex percussive work on tabla and other instruments grounded the ensemble of instrumentalists playing both Western and South Asian instruments. Among them were Praful Kelkar playing an Indian lute instrument called a sarod and Cameron Fassett performing the cello.
Set at the precipice of a climate crisis in the future, the story centered around a young boy, played by Clay Man Soo, forced to flee his home. He received messages dropped from an ominous bird-like drone (portrayed as a puppet) commanding residents to evacuate. In the woods, the boy wrote letters to the giant moon in the sky. Eventually, he met a haughty mushroom, played by Ganguly, who conversed with the boy about their predicaments and hopes for the future.
Directed by theater artist Masanari Kawahara, the production boasted moments of whimsy and was unapologetic in its political point of view, carrying a message about the dangers of environmental disaster and abuse of power. With shadow puppets, clay art and musical storytelling, the work carried an open heart.
Clay Man Soo had a lively physicality in his portrayal of the boy, and employed a Broadway singing style in his performance. Meanwhile, wearing an abundance of tulle and perched on a bed of vibrant mushrooms, Ganguly sang in the tradition of Bengali folk music — her captivating voice was emotive and clear.
A lush set design by Joshua Martin and lighting design by Heidi Eckwall enveloped the two characters amidst the cover of the trees. Adding to the visual storytelling was the intriguing sand art animation performed by Sofia Padilla. Standing to the side of the stage, Padilla manipulated sand spread over a glass screen in front of her, with light shining up from underneath it. Her constantly changing drawings were then projected onto a giant moon that doubled as a projection screen.
As a whole, the production satisfied with its rich design and absorbing music.
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