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Holding opera close to his heart
Sharing some background of his love for music and opera, Sanjeev shared that Christian and sacred music was a big part of his life growing up, leading to him always being in choir in church and gradually towards classical music and opera, following the operatic greats like Pavarotti and Caruso, as well alternative singers like Andrea Bocelli who showed him how opera and classical music can be adapted to suit modern styles.
Having been a part of The Colombo Philharmonic Orchestra as well as other major choirs for years, Sanjeev decided to embark on a solo career in 2015 with Cadence of Your Tears, a piece that he collaborated on with Suresh de Silva of Stigmata fame. This was the first of many musical collaborations.
On why he decided to pursue opera, Sanjeev shared that it had a lot to do with what his voice could do. “My vocal capabilities are more towards opera,” he explained, adding: “I really enjoy the kind of techniques you use when you sing opera. It’s not easy, and you have to practise a lot. But once you really get into it, you can bring out some really great sounds, and it is amazing for you and your audience.”
‘Pini Kandulu’
The story of Pini Kandulu, Sanjeev said, was one of coming to terms with loss. Pini Kandulu was composed in collaboration with lyricist Gayan Srigarasinghe, who Sanjeev had worked with previously on other songs as well. On listening to Sanjeev’s melody, it became clear that the song was meant to be a nuanced one that captures the different feelings when processing the death of a loved one.
“When I sent the music to Gayan to write lyrics, he listened to it and connected to it, without knowing what it was supposed to be about – that brought around the story of someone losing their loved one,” Sanjeev said.
Pini Kandulu speaks about someone dealing with loss and how they look out into nature to find that person who is no longer with them. It talks about the despair someone feels when mourning and how that gives way to hope.
The music video for Pini Kandulu was created to be simple, with award-winning short film director Nilmini Perera (who also directed the video for his first song Cadence of Your Tears).
Opera and the Sri Lankan listener
Even with English audiences, Sanjeev shared that opera is something of a niche genre, and to date, there hasn’t been a single Sri Lankan production of an opera – there have only rarely been troupes from abroad who come here for the odd performance.
Having just released a Sinhala operatic audience, we also asked about what the landscape is like for opera in Sri Lanka, especially in the Sinhala language.
“There are definitely a lot of people who have not heard it before, so it is a process to get people to hear it at first. But lots of people, once they hear it, are thrilled and want to hear more. There’s definitely a market open to be found. From the initial feedback I’ve gathered on Pini Kandulu, there is definitely an opportunity, and this opportunity can be a big one because of how diverse the Sinhala audience is,” Sanjeev shared.
To listen to ‘Pini Kandulu’ and Sanjeev’s other work, you can visit his YouTube page.
YouTube: Sanjeev Niles