Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

Somtow’s Mahajanaka Opera-Ballet

Posted on December 1, 2014December 1, 2014 by Dharma Documentaries
An opera and ballet based on one of the most famous Jataka stories by the prolific American/Thai writer and composer S. P. Somtow.

Somtow's Mahajanaka

I have often reflected that the Buddhist tradition contains more than enough good stories that could be adapted to various media for modern presentation, but hardly do we see it done.

The Jataka stories in particular would be suitable for updating and presenting in film and/or stage form, but their seems to be a great lack of initiative amongst Buddhists generally at the present time.

The work presented today is an exception, being a record of a recent staging of an adaptation of the Mahajanaka Jataka story, known to nearly all traditional Buddhists, by S. P. Somtow’s Bangkok Opera group earlier this year.

The opera has four scenes, which are described below:

Mithila: A fraticidal war destroys the city of Mithila. In the aftermath, Prince Mahajanaka pledges to his mother that he will make a voyage to save his kingdom.

Maelstrom: A storm destroy’s the Prince’s ship and casts him into the ocean.

Mekhala: After swimming resolutely for seven days and nights Mahajanaka is saved by the Goddess Mekhala.

Mango: Coming ashore in the land of Suwannabhumi the Prince sees two mango trees. One is almost devoid of fruit; the other glistens with poisonous fruit. He comes to realise that he must be like the tree that gives up all its fruit for the sake of his people. A mighty nation will grow from Prince Mahajanaka’s mango seed.

 

if the video does not appear on the page, please first try reloading the page, and if that doesn’t work, leave a comment so I can update the page (the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Arts, Jataka, Thailand

2 thoughts on “Somtow’s Mahajanaka Opera-Ballet”

  1. Somtow says:
    January 28, 2015 at 12:28 pm

    I want to tell you that I am adapting the entire 10 last lives of the Buddha into operatic/ballet form right now. It is a long term project and the cycle will be performed in festival style over a 5 day period.

    Reply
    1. Anandajoti says:
      January 28, 2015 at 12:31 pm

      This is really good news indeed. Thanks for your inspiring work on these projects. Hope recordings can also be uploaded to youtube as with this one, so more people can benefit.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Comments do not appear straight away, but are moderated before publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/2yY

Donations

This site has taken more than a dozen years and 1000s of hours to build, and has 800+ documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Related Posts

  • Thai Kings and Temples (Folkways of Indochina)
  • Introduction to Buddhist Art
  • First Earth - Uncompromising Ecological Architecture - 2
  • First Earth - Uncompromising Ecological Architecture - 1
  • Secrets of Shangri-La: Quest for Sacred Caves
  • Lost Cave Temples of the Himalaya
  • John Guy, Identifying Jainism in Indian Art
  • Bopearachchi, Spread of Gandhāra Art
  • Bopearachchi, Convergence of Hellenism and Buddhism
  • Dorothy Wong, Making Merit

Recent Posts

  • Angkor Wat, Ancient Hydraulic City
  • The Magical Mountain of Tibet
  • Lords of Water
  • Radioactive Waste, A Nuclear Nightmare
  • Beyond Boundaries, Buddhist Art of Gandhāra
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery, Level 4
  • The Story of Sudhana, Balustrade, Level 4
  • The Story of Sudhana, Balustrade, Level 3
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery 3, 45-88
  • The Story of Sudhana, Gallery 3, 1-44

Random Posts

  • Discovering Oneself with a Bowl of Temple Food
  • Nourished by the Mekong River: Colourful River System
  • Anagarika Dharmapala
  • Fire in the Blood
  • Sit (Zen and Everyday Life)
  • Relics found in Jingchuan, Gansu, China
  • The Heart of Taoism 3, Governing Without Action
  • Mummies who made Themselves
  • Gyeong Ju, South Korea (Expoza)
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 19-20 of 24
© 2023 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme