Arts
Hitting a classical note with ease
A relaxed Gehan. Pic by Indika Hamduwala
“It was always there,” says Gehan Cooray, trying to pinpoint the exact moment he knew he wanted to pursue a career in the performing arts. Opera singer/ filmmaker/ actor, he effortlessly launches his long lean frame into an elegant Cleopatra pose on top of a table (making it look completely natural ) and it’s easy to see that he was born and not moulded into his profession.
In a week’s time, music lovers can watch Gehan take the stage for “Music from the Heart”. In aid of the Ostomy Association of Sri Lanka, the first concert was held last year, when the baritone performed alongside other well known musicians. This time Gehan is accompanied by pianist Soundarie David Rodrigo with Dinushka Jayawickrema (Soprano) as guest performer
Currently residing in Los Angeles, Gehan’s introduction to music and film was as a three-year- old watching “My Fair Lady”. The classic movie musicals would shape his future as a filmmaker too. These days, he is wrapping up his first feature film “The Billionaire” which, like “My Fair Lady” is based on a George Bernard Shaw play. “I’m like a Victorian person living in the wrong century,” he laughs easily. His love for the classics and for opera will be evident at “Music from the Heart” with a programme ranging from Puccini and Mozart to the musicals – “Les Miserables”, “My Fair Lady”, “Camelot” and Rukmani Devi too.
Starting off his musical education at St. Joseph’s College under Francis d’Almeida, Gehan’s passion for opera developed under the guidance of Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu. Although opera is hardly the most popular choice for young singers, he remembers listening to CDs at home as a teenager and this gradually grew into a full blown passion. The real attraction for Gehan was the drama complexity and technicality of singing opera.
Moving to the US, where he completed his studies at the University of Southern California and living there for the past few years, offered a new challenge for Gehan. The arts scene there is a sharp contrast from the more relaxed atmosphere back home where many performers juggle singing with other jobs.“It could either make you or break you,” he says.
“They treat it as an industry,” he adds, talking of learning to take a full on professional approach to his craft. For Gehan, a profession in the arts requires both intensity and respect- “we need aesthetics to reach our potential as human beings,” he says, remembering the more old school emphasis on technique and study of one’s craft, which he misses in some of today’s artistic work.
Branching out into filmmaking came from an encounter with another versatile actor/ filmmaker Jon Favreau. When Gehan first met the man behind 2016’s magical remake of “The Jungle Book”, Favreau had glanced at his USC t shirt and asked if he was a filmmaker. “I wanted to say- no, I’m just an actor” he had thought instinctively. “But you have to take charge of your career” he says, driven to keep exploring his potential as a singer, producer, actor and director. His aim is to produce art in its purest form, he says. “This is my contribution to the world.”
‘Music from the Heart’ goes on the boards on January 20, 7.30 p.m. at the Bishop’s College Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased from the Auditorium. All proceeds from the show will go towards the Ostomy Association of Sri Lanka