Drawn from India’s most celebrated dramatic masterpiece—Kālidāsa’s 5th-century Shakuntala—and inspired by a story that has captivated composers from Schubert to Alfano, this luminous new opera by IN Series Artistic Director Timothy Nelson weaves together Western baroque and Indian classical musical traditions into a richly immersive meditation on love, loss, memory, and redemption.
Its libretto draws from centuries of Indian poetry alongside sacred passages from the Mahabharata, creating a layered and evocative musical world. Conceived in the spirit of an intimate Indian classical music gathering, The Song of Sakuntala unfolds like a single, ever-transforming song—moving through longing, meditation, yearning, whispering, chanting, calling, and remembrance late into the night. The result is an extraordinary theatrical and musical experience that invites audiences into a space of deep listening, emotional resonance, and timeless storytelling.
Imagined in the style of a concert of Indian classical music, it promises an evening like a “single song, permutated across the hours, in a mood of evocation and remembrance and longing illuminated by swirling, dizzying aspiration - meditation, yearning, whispering, calling, chanting, talking and touching late into the night.”