Weekend Plans in Bangalore: A Live Comic Opera in English, 26–27 September

A live comic opera in English, one hour, no interval. Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026, 5 p.m., KE Auditorium, CHRIST University, Hosur Road, Bangalore. Tickets from ₹280.

Gianni Schicchi: a live comic opera in English. One hour, no interval. Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026, 5:00 p.m. KE Auditorium, CHRIST University, Hosur Road, Bangalore. Tickets from ₹280.

If you are looking for something to do in Bangalore on the last weekend of September, and would like it to be a live show rather than another film, here is one option laid out plainly, with everything you would want to know before booking.

What kind of show is it?

Gianni Schicchi is Puccini's only comedy: a single act, about an hour, no interval. A wealthy man dies and leaves his whole fortune to a monastery. His relatives, gathered around the bed and appalled, send for a man who might be able to do something about it. What follows is the most expensive performance any of them will ever give.

If you enjoy musicals, comedy or a good family drama, you already know half of what happens here. The characters argue, scheme and interrupt each other exactly as a family would around a will. The only difference is that they do it singing.

It is also the opera that gave the world "O mio babbino caro", a soprano aria you have very likely heard in films and advertisements without knowing where it came from.

A performer in costume singing on stage in Gianni Schicchi at CHRIST University, Bangalore. — From the production of Gianni Schicchi at CHRIST University.

Western classical music, live on stage

In India, "classical music" usually means Hindustani or Carnatic. This is the other classical tradition: Western classical music, the European repertoire of orchestras, pianos and trained operatic voices. Opera is where that music becomes theatre, with singers acting out a story in costume, on a set, under stage lighting, and in this production joined by four dancers.

If you have been curious about Western singing, the kind taught as Western vocals or opera singing, this is a chance to hear it in a hall rather than through headphones.

Sung in English, set in the present day

The production is staged in the present day and sung in English. No surtitles to read, no libretto in your lap. Fifteen student performers are on stage, joined by Andrey Morozov in the title role, and for most of the cast this is a first opera.

Three performers in present-day clothes during a rehearsal of Gianni Schicchi at CHRIST University. — In rehearsal, in present-day clothes.

When: Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September, 5 p.m.

Both performances begin at 5:00 p.m. and are the same production, so pick whichever day suits you. Saturday has been selling faster; if your weekend is flexible, Sunday gives you more choice of seats.

One hour, no interval. You will be out in good time for dinner.

Where: KE Auditorium, CHRIST University, Hosur Road

KE Auditorium, the Kuriakose Elias Auditorium, is on the Central Campus of CHRIST (Deemed to be University).

Block IV
CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
Dharmaram College Post, Hosur Road
Bengaluru 560029

The campus is on Hosur Road near Dairy Circle, a short ride from Koramangala, BTM Layout and Jayanagar. Open the campus location on the map and allow a few minutes to walk in from the gate to Block IV.

The KE Auditorium at CHRIST University, Bangalore, seen from the balcony with the curtain closed. — KE Auditorium, where the opera is staged.

Tickets: from ₹280

Seats range from ₹280 in the economy and balcony rows to ₹499 for VIP. You choose your seat on a plan of the hall, so you can see exactly where you will be sitting before you pay.

Book your seats here.

Quick answers

Is the opera in English? Yes. Gianni Schicchi was written in Italian; this production sings it in English, with no surtitles.

How long is it? About one hour, with no interval.

Is this Indian or Western classical music? Western. Giacomo Puccini was Italian, and Gianni Schicchi was first performed in New York in 1918.

Is there a live orchestra? The singing is live. The orchestral score plays from a full symphonic track prepared for this production. We would rather tell you here than have you find out in the hall.

If you have never been to an opera

This is an unusually good one to start with. It is short, it is funny, it is in English, and nothing about it asks you to have done homework. Come with friends, a date or your parents.

If you would like to know more about the piece first, we wrote about it here.

Puccini set the story in Florence in 1299 and finished it in 1918. It still works in Bangalore in 2026, because nobody has yet found a family that stays polite around a will.