Mahābhārata

music by Riccardo Nova

Mahābhārata, mantras, fights and threnody

Mattia Biadene, sound design
Riccardo Biadene, executive producer
Kama Productions

Co-production
Ensemble Musikfabrik

Voice and idian flute
Varijashree Venugopal

Mridangam
BC Manjunath

Khanjira
Guru Prasanna

Ensemble Musikfabrik
Christine Chapman, French horn, conch shell
Marco Blaauw, trumpet, conch shell
Hannah Weirich, violin and viola d’amore
Florentin Ginot, double bass
Dirk Rothburst, percussion
Stephen Menotti, trombone
Maxime Morel, tuba
Benjamin Kobler, keyboards

Icarus vs Muzak
Maria Gilda Gianolio, harp
Michele Di Modugno, percussion
Francesco Pedrazzini, percussion

The Mahābhārata concert by Riccardo Nova traces the story of the eponymous Indian epic. With over 100,000 verses, the Mahābhārata is one of the longest poems in the world and tells the story of the conflict between two rival families. The vast epic recounts the dominion over the kingdom of Kurukshetra and the famous Battle of Kurukshetra, in which nearly all the warriors from both sides were killed. However, the Mahābhārata also contains numerous subplots that address themes such as religion, ethics, philosophy, and spirituality. The profound reflection on Hinduism forms the foundation from which the epic offers a unique perspective on human existence and its myriad contradictory facets.

Riccardo Nova’s Mahābhārata (Mantras, Fights and Threnody) is the first act of a trilogy and was premiered in 2022 at the Philharmonie Essen with soloists Varijashree Venugopal, Guru Prasanna, and B.C. Manjunath, conducted by Peter Rundel. This year, the concert makes its Italian debut at the prestigious Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, one of the most modern and cutting-edge venues in Europe for opera and symphonic music.