Khemadasa fires Negombo with ‘Agni’

Dr. Premasiri Khemadasa's latest opera 'Agni' (Fire) depicting the age-old tale of Prometheus, that errant Titan who found himself banished to the end of the earth for the crime of giving mortals the gift of fire, will go on board today, July 8 at 7 pm at Town Hall, Negombo.

For those in Negombo, this would be a rare occasion for all lovers of music and drama and specially the admirers of 'Master Khemadasa'. Libretto by well known poet and writer Eric Illiyapparachchi, 'Agni' is based on the legend of Prometheus, an Olympian god whose bequest to humans provided the spark to ignite knowledge, enlightenment.

The opera is woven around early primitive human civilization in the ice age in which humans are deprived of fire. A hunter named Soma is disappointed with primitive hunting. At great risk, Soma embarks on a journey in search of fire for the benefit of entire humanity.

According to Agni, the fire is a luxury enjoyed only by the Divines and is not something that human beings should inherit. However, Prometheus the god of fire sends his sister, goddess of fire, to the earth with fire.

Subsequently the court of Olympian gods penalize Prometheus on earth for robbing fire, which is a luxury exclusively enjoyed by the Gods. Soma and the Goddess of Fire started a journey to free Prometheus and the opera ends with the journey.

Soma the main character of the opera is a symbol of the man who dreams of development, culture and civilization. He drifts between reality and fantasy. Though he is the husband of Mihi Paba and is a centre of social evolution who would risk even his life in search of knowledge and experience. Goddess of Fire is Prometheus's sister who descended upon the earth from a perfect world because of her curiosity and liking the life on earth.

On the contrary, Mihi Paba symbolizes the traditional woman and her forte is also the traditions and conventional emotions. She wishes that her progressive husband would realize his dreams and aspirations within the conventional family. Another significant character in Agni is Kaala, symbol of youthfulness. He is a harbinger of modernity and characterizes the way in which traditional society perceives modern trends.

Played by nearly twenty five players both Western and Eastern, the music in 'Agni' is a blend of the variety of Western, Eastern and folk. Among the cast the main characters are played by well-known personalities in the world cinema, stage and television, Kamal Addararachchi who is making a debut as a vocalist on stage and Indika Upamali, a leading student of Master Khemadasa and others include hidden talents discovered by the Khemadasa school of music.

The opera troupe include Subuddi Lakmali, Chamari Sewwandika, Umali Thilakaratna, Kamal Addararachchi, Krishan Wickremasinghe, Sumudu Pathiraja, Gamini Sarathchandra, Chandimal Hemantha, Marcial Janatha Wageesha Sandamali, Upeshika Wickrema, Bhagya Sanjeewani and Sudarshika Anusha.

The music troupe included world renowned musicians like Luxman Joseph de Saram and talented Dinesh Subasinghe, Sagara S. Wijesinghe, Gunasena Cooray, Somasiri Baddegama, Thushani Jayawardena, Sulara Nanayakkara, Randeer Mendis, Sanath Pushpakumara and Sujeewa. Suwineetha Subasinghe designed the costumes and Upali Herath was responsible in making the background. Lighting by Wasantha Kumara, Buddadasa Galappathi did the make up.