Of hope, love & forgiveness

  • | Saturday | 14th December, 2019

Anushree Madhavan ByExpress News ServiceCHENNAI: World-renowned Gracias Choir’s Christmas Cantata is something the western world awaits every year. “The Gracias Christmas Cantata will infuse your heart with the true meaning of Christmas: The birth of hope, love, and God’s forgiveness,” their website reads. Now it’s time for Chennai to get ready to witness the message of hope this weekend at Phoenix MarketCity. Around 50 artistes from different countries will be performing to the tunes of Gracias Choir under the name of South India Grand Cantata. The Christmas Cantata is held only during the Christmas season from late November till the end of December.

Anushree Madhavan By Express News Service CHENNAI: World-renowned Gracias Choir’s Christmas Cantata is something the western world awaits every year. “The Gracias Christmas Cantata will infuse your heart with the true meaning of Christmas: The birth of hope, love, and God’s forgiveness,” their website reads. Now it’s time for Chennai to get ready to witness the message of hope this weekend at Phoenix MarketCity. Around 50 artistes from different countries will be performing to the tunes of Gracias Choir under the name of South India Grand Cantata. Divina Lonappan, acting in-charge, says, “We couldn’t bring the original choir to India, but we wanted to give a chance to our people to see a show that is so amazing and of international standards. So we came up with idea of doing the show in India.” The Gracias Choir conceptualised the Cantata in 2001, merely a year after the choir was formed. It started as a simple musical, but evolved and grew with the choir to what it is today. The Christmas Cantata is held only during the Christmas season from late November till the end of December. The team gets back together for Easter Cantata in April. The performers are from different cities and different countries including South Korea, USA, Cambodia, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Manipur, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. “We have been living together and touring together for the past one-and-a-half months. We had held an acting workshop in September and auditioned our actors there. They were assigned roles based on their evaluation,” she says. The show will comprise two acts. The first act will be the nativity act that describes the birth of Jesus at a time when the people of Israel were being oppressed under Roman rule. The second act is an adaptation of the story of the Little Match Girl. It’s about a girl called Anna who is a troublemaker and doesn’t realise the value of her family and how a Christmas miracle makes her wake up to reality. “The whole point behind our Cantata tour is to reach the Indian audience. The show in Phoenix Mall will be our 12th performance this month. We have already put up shows in Bengaluru, Kochi, Madurai, Tiruchy and Kolar. It’ll be a lively show with music and dance,” says Divina. The music of the show is that of the Gracias Choir and Orchestra — the only choir hailing from Asia to win three of the topmost choral competitions in Europe. The carols, music and sound effects is what makes the show a step above what we normally see, say the team. Apart from this, what can the Chennai audience take away from the show? “Happiness. A reprieve from their daily life. A slice of light and joy in their routine lives,” says Divina. After touring many cities, this will be the first time that the team will be performing at a mall. Sharing her thoughts, Divina says, “It will be a challenge to our team especially in terms of audience. Outdoor stages come with a few unexpected twists. Last time one of our set houses flew off the stage because of heavy winds. But we think that the doing it in the Phoenix Mall will make it a lot more accessible to the public so that more people get to know.” Over the past few weeks, the team has bonded. Not just on stage, but off it too. “Practice sessions are not easy. There are times when everything is smooth and then there are times when people feel homesick. But we talk to each other, share our problems, and become one in our hearts. Rehearsing till late night includes not just acting practice but also practising to set the stage, costumes, props, loading and unloading trucks,” she shares adding that the whole set has been recreated for the Indian tour. The team is looking forward to Christmas when they can take a break from their daily performances and relax. ‘Christmas Cantata’ will be held on December15 at 6 pm at Phoenix MarketCity. For details, call: 66513007

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