How a university company spent more than a year bringing Puccini’s comedy into the present day — and played three performances to an estimated audience of more than 1,200
The production took more than a year to reach the stage. In the spring the company sang an excerpt at the Aesthetica international conference, and it went well enough that they decided to attempt the whole opera. Students graduated along the way: some kept coming back to rehearsals, others had to be replaced. Current students and graduates from the Department of Music performed alongside students from the Department of Theatre Studies. At the centre of the company was Andrey Morozov, a Department of Music faculty member and opera singer with more than two decades of professional stage experience, who performed the title role alongside his students and directed the production.
On 25 September the production played for the students and faculty of the university; on 26 and 27 September it opened to the public. An estimated audience of more than 1,200 people came over those three days. Following Trial by Jury, Gianni Schicchi became the next full opera preserved in the university’s performance archive.
The performance lasted about an hour. The story behind it took more than a year.
Sung in English. The production was made for an audience that might never have heard an opera live, so the story had to be readable from the auditorium while it was happening — no surtitles, no libretto in the lap. The production used the established English version by Anne and Herbert Grossman.
Set in the present day. The action moved out of Florence in 1299 and into a house you would recognise: a family that cannot stay polite around a will.
A ballet Puccini never wrote. Four dancers gave the production a layer that is not in the score. They were not a ballet company: three are students of the Department of Music — Ananyaa Singh, who also sang Dr Spinelloccio, Bhadra Pradeep and Krithika M — and the choreography was by Ambika V. Talreja, a first-year student of the Department of Theatre Studies, who danced as well.
“Death is a strange neighbour for comedy.”
An orchestra built bar by bar. The entire performance was accompanied by a symphonic soundtrack created by Andrey Morozov — not a ready-made recording, but almost an hour of orchestral music realised from Puccini’s full score in a studio on campus.
Work on the opera began in the previous academic year, and the first stretch went on the music alone: entries, and ensembles where five or six people sing different things at once and every line still has to reach the room.
The opera was chosen for the voices the company had. Gianni Schicchi has sixteen roles and almost no long solo parts, so the load is spread across the whole company instead of resting on two people.
“We look at the voices we have now and find an opera for them, not the other way round.” — Natalla Marozava, vocal coach
Then came the character work. Objects did much of it — a wheelchair, a cigar, a suitcase that never leaves one relative’s hand: give a person something to hold and they find out who they are holding it as. One group of students began the production and another finished it.
Before the premiere the production went out to meet its audience: cast members sang arias at a stand on Central Campus, and Campus Day became the busiest day of ticket sales since August.
More than thirty people made the production. The final cast lists nineteen stage performers across sixteen operatic roles and four dancers, with one performer appearing in both groups.
The production was directed by Andrey Morozov, who also sang the title role. The vocal preparation was led by Natalla Marozava, and our accompanist, Anastasiya Yafimava, worked with the singers at the piano throughout the rehearsals and also accompanied on stage.
“My job in the ensembles is to be the cement that holds these separate young voices together.” — Anastasiya Yafimava, répétiteur
The cast brought together students and graduates from the Department of Music, joined by students from the Department of Theatre Studies. Several graduates returned to complete work they had begun as students. Oishorjo Mahalanobis and Sudhansh Shrish Lal have been with us for four years: they started out in opera with us, and today they are in their fourth year.
Behind the singers worked the sets, costumes and props, make-up, media and marketing, and the production’s accounts — most of them students as well. The full cast and creative team are listed below.
The performance lasted an hour; these pieces tell how it was made.
Gianni Schicchi: Puccini’s One-Act Opera, Sung in English — the opera, from a few lines in Dante’s Inferno to the last panel of Il Trittico, and the idea behind this production.
Bringing Puccini’s Orchestra into Our Rehearsal Room — how the symphonic soundtrack was built, bar by bar.
Four People Talking at Once — why opera sings instead of speaking, from Rigoletto’s quartet to the rehearsal room where students were learning to make Puccini’s comedy land in English.
Rehearsals for Gianni Schicchi Are Under Way — inside the rehearsal room: music first, then character.
Backstage at Gianni Schicchi — the opening letter of the Backstage series and the more than thirty people behind the production.
Backstage 01: Anastasiya Yafimava, répétiteur — Puccini’s orchestra in two hands at the piano.
Backstage 02: Natalla Marozava, vocal coach — choosing an opera to fit the voices, and why it is sung in English.
Backstage 03: Six Voices in a Very Loud Family — six singers inside one quarrelling family.
The Ballet Puccini Never Wrote — the dancers, the English text and a comedy with a dead man in the middle.
Booking Opens for Gianni Schicchi — how the two public evenings went on sale.
Things to Do in Bangalore This Weekend — the production introduced to the city.
A Little Opera on Campus — Campus Day, when the production first met its audience.
Facts
| Performances | 25 September 2026 for students and faculty; 26 and 27 September 2026 for the public |
| Audience | An estimated audience of more than 1,200 people |
| Ticket sales | More than ₹3,00,000 |
| Language | Sung in English |
| Music | Puccini’s full score, realised as a symphonic soundtrack |
| Public performances | KE Auditorium, CHRIST University, Central Campus, Bangalore |
A video of the performance is being edited now. It will be added to this page, so that everyone who could not come to the performances can see the production.
Our warm thanks go to the theatre department for the sets, the sewing workshops and the props we used.
“In every sense it became a people’s production, assembled piece by piece.”
Were you in the audience? We would be glad to read your review below.
Lighting for the production, from the first technical rehearsal to the last cue.
Sound for the production: microphones, balance and playback, from the first technical rehearsal to the last cue.
Lighting for the production, from the first technical rehearsal to the last cue.
Lighting for the production, from the first technical rehearsal to the last cue.
Sound and lighting at the KE Auditorium, on every production the department has staged there.
Sound and lighting at the KE Auditorium, on every production the department has staged there.
Independent marketing consultant. Planned and ran the Instagram and Facebook campaign for the opera.
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Musician. His support made the advertising campaign possible.
Website ↗
Amazing work by everyone! Costumes, set, music, everything was beautiful and the solos were insanely good. Especially loved the range shown by Helen, Sparshan, and Sahana. Helen's solo seriously made me tear up :') Looking forward to more from you guys!
It was my first Opera Show watch. Hats off to the students who produced, directed, acted, sang, danced, played music, designed costumes, managed finances for props and stage, managed lights and also volunteered on the help desks and other places. I m so proud of this group of students who made my evening memorable with their superfluous performance.
Brilliant performances and well-staged. The interludes and sets are remarkable and the perfect sync of the singers and the pianist makes for an entertaining show. Happy for my daughter to have played a part and having witnessed this in person.
The cast, the set, costumes, and performances were all commendable. Occasionally the voices of singers either got suppressed by the background music or weren't loud enough for even people sitting in the second row. An improved audio output will make the experience even more immersive.
Greetings, The staff responsible for so much -- such as all the management and administration concerned directly with the staging of this adaptation of Puccini’s opera deserve kudos. It cannot be easy to train teenagers who are generally young and callow with little if any previous exposure to Western Classical music and Opera in particular. Students in schools in the wealthier West are trained to read music and sing accordingly. They are also familiarised with the instruments in an orchestra and learn to play at least one. It is hardly likely that the young students who participated in this staging, had had any such exposure earlier. The personnel involved in the training of the students must be commended. All the teaching and coaching staff concerned also deserve to be formally appreciated. They have obviously put in intensive work and their dedication is admirable. It is nice that the children seem to have enjoyed themselves so much; this was clear to us when we met many of them after the opera. Hopefully, some of them will continue to train to acquire higher skills and capacity to revive opera in India. (The response of the students is clearly indicative of the brilliant leadership of the teaching and coaching staff and my request is to please take cognisance of my personal esteem for all so concerned.) I have seen this opera long ago and in an opera house overseas. (That was professional.). I can offer suggestions; however, such suggestions are just that: they do not imply the least criticism and my request is that my suggestions be thought of constructively. Firstly, and most importantly, the music is being played through professional sound equipment such as amplifiers and speakers. The producer must try to curb the enthusiasm of the sound technicians: the music should never ever compete with or tend to drown out any singers. My second suggestion comes directly from the opera which I’d seen. In that, Buoso Donati’s bed was clear to the audience; however, in rather dim lighting. The setting is in Florence in 1299. At that time and for centuries before and after, oil lamps and candles were the chief means of lighting. It was also prohibitively expensive to be lavish with such lighting and regardless of wealth. Dim lighting would also add realism to the ability of Gianni Schicchi to deceive the doctor as well as the lawyer and his team. (In the opera, the doctor is a bass singer; however, it is nice that in the adaptation here depicts the doctor as a woman.) To add to the realism, when the doctor knocks, Schicchi jumps behind the curtains of the four-poster bed. (He cannot be seen when he imitates the voice of Buoso Donati and the room is dim.) The opera staged is an adaptation and has been superbly executed. After LaurettaRinuccio sing of the happiness they will know together, Gianni Schicchi returns and asks the audience, “Can you imagine a better use of Buoso’s money? If you have enjoyed yourselves this evening, I trust you will applaud a verdict of ‘Extenuating Circumstances’.” Three of us, my wife and my sister also attended this adaptation and we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves — so we can only applaud the verdict of ‘Extenuating Circumstances’. We wish all of you equally extraordinary success in all your future such ventures. With best wishes, Col. Nilakanta
Really enjoyed the performance! Thankfully, I was seated in the first row, so I got to experience the performance up close, which made it even more engaging. It was fascinating to see an Italian opera performed in English by the students of Christ University. The cast did a wonderful job, and you could really feel the energy and enthusiasm they brought to the stage. A very enjoyable evening and a performance I’m genuinely glad I got to watch. Kudos to the entire team!
Wholesome . Fantastic team effort . Amazing performances, know a bit sceptical initially as this is my first opera , but thoroughly enjoyed and surprised to note than an hour had passed in a jiffy .. special congrats to all actors who has performed very aptly , gracefully and suiting their characters very well. All in all thanks to one and all for a memorable evening .
The actors were great, but I guess either the music was loud or the voices were dimmer. Was the rehearsal done with music and people standing in various location in the auditorium. Because the phrases were only clear when the music was not there. You can only make so much from actions, overall I enjoyed it the father daughter act was something I guess everyone loved. Great artists. Thanks!!
