I went last night. You MUST go tonight. Arujana’s Dilemma, produced by the Music Theater Group, is a chamber opera based on the Bhagavad Gita, one of the books of the Mahabarata.

It’s at the BAM Harvey Theater. And boy is there historical resonance there because the Harvey reopened with a staging by Peter Brooks of the the Mahabarata.

And being in that theater is a must-have experience.

Arjuna’s Dilemma caught me by surprise. I knew nothing about it until an OTBKB reader sent me information about it the other day.

Hallelujah.

Wholly eclectic and transcendent, the work combines contemporary opera, Gregorian chants, jazz, Indian classical music and MORE.

The creative team has major cred: composer Douglas J. Cuomo, director Robin Guarino,  choreographer and performer John Kelly. An incredible women’s vocal ensemble, incredible musicians, including an Indian singer and an Indian percussionist.

The following is an excerpt from Douglas Cuomo’s website:

"Like the best of today’s composers, from the late Lou Harrison to
Osvaldo Golijov, Cuomo has developed a lingua franca that is
international enough to allow the speakers of different musical
languages to communicate… The music occupies a space that is not
bound by geography or chronology." —John Schaefer, WNYC

The Music
Arjuna’s Dilemma, a 70-minute chamber opera, is my most ambitious composition
to date.  A work of both sweeping grandeur and piercing intimacy, Arjuna’s Dilemma seamlessly
melds classical, jazz and traditional Indian musical idioms as it explores ancient themes that
remain startlingly topical:  the claims of conscience and duty in a time of war; the search for self-knowledge
in a changing world.

Scored for six vocalists (Indian singer, tenor and a four-member female chorus) and twelve
instrumentalists (string quintet, piano, two winds, two percussion, tablas and jazz saxophone),
Arjuna’s Dilemma utilizes North Indian performance styles, melodic structures,
tuning systems, odd time signatures and rhythmic patterns alongside western instrumentation,
harmonies and forms. North Indian vocals co-mingle with a Western tenor and four-part choral writing,
with references to both modern vocal styles and Byzantine and Gregorian chant. Improvisation
is common to both musical worlds, with the Indian singer, tabla player and jazz saxophonist each
using their respective improvisatory traditions to reach for the ecstatic, the sublime and the
terror that make up the emotional world of this work.

The Story
At the battlefield on the eve of the first conflict of a massive civil war, Prince Arjuna finds
himself in a state of almost paralyzing confusion. He must lead his army against an enemy that includes
family, friends, and teachers. Unable to justify such violence against his own people, he turns
for guidance to his advisor and charioteer Krishna, who has not yet revealed himself to be an incarnation
of the most powerful god in the Hindu pantheon. In the ensuing dialogue, Krishna gradually reveals
to Arjuna the true nature of the universe, in all its splendor and its horror.

The Where and When

Saturday November 8, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
BAM Harvey Theater
Fulton Street