Featuring live music from Rushil Ranjan, Abi Sampa, Sarthak Kalyani, Janan Sathiendran & Manchester Camerata.
Aakash Odedra unites with musical greats, Abi Sampa, Sarthak Kalyani, Rushil Ranjan, Janan Sathiendran and forty of Manchester Camerata’s musicians for a unique live orchestral performance of Songs of the Bulbul. This one-off evening, blending captivating dance, peerless singing and orchestral mastery, will be an unforgettable experience. Songs of the Bulbul comes to Lowry on Tuesday 6 May as part of its English premiere and UK tour.
Songs of the Bulbul has been developed with London-based, genre-defying composer Rushil Ranjan. Renowned for his distinctive ability to seamlessly bring together Indian classical and Western classical traditions, his original score is written for orchestra, Qawwali singers and other Indian classical musicians.
Songs of the Bulbul lays bare Odedra’s personal and spiritual dance landscape on stage. Rani Khanam’s exquisite storytelling choreography features expressive hand gestures and flowing lines through space. Khanam is renowned for her intimate knowledge of Islamic and Sufi texts and she has worked widely with Sufi musicians, singers and dancers from across the Islamic world.
Together, Odedra, Ranjan and Khanam tell an ancient Sufi myth about the bulbul, a Persian nightingale, a symbol of the beauty of the natural world and the pursuit of religious enlightenment, which, when captured, sings a glorious tune. The song reaches an inexpressibly beautiful pitch in the moments before it perishes from despair.
Aakash Odedra’s Songs of the Bulbul is part of Lowry’s 25th Anniversary programme, which has been curated to encapsulate what Lowry is all about – creativity, opportunity and making the arts accessible to all.
Listings
Songs of the Bulbul: Tuesday 6 May at 7.30pm
Venue: Lowry, Salford Quays, Pier 8, Salford Quays M50 3AZ
Run-time 50 minutes
Further Information: Songs of the Bulbul with full orchestra