Grange Park Opera

With generous support from The Houston Family

Maestro sitarist Nishat Khan is descended from the court musicians of the Moghul period. He has composed an orchestral score combining western orchestral forces with his own instrument and a tabla player. Nishat narrates the tale from the stage and improvises on the sitar.

This is an opera first.

Director Stephen Medcalf writes…

“Taj Mahal is a love story which explores the extraordinary romance between Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. We begin in the Octagonal Tower at the Agra Fort, in 1665, where Shah Jahan is held in captivity by his son Aurangzeb; Shah Jahan is old and dying, but from his prison he has a view of the Taj Mahal, which is a constant reminder of the enduring love of his wife Mumtaz.

“The story is presented as a series of kaleidoscopic flashbacks, through which we see elephant fights, enthronements and civil wars. As fathers and sons struggle for precedence, Mumtaz is the moral centre of the piece, a lone voice speaking out against the family rivalries. Amidst murder and mayhem, we see how she meets Shah Jahan, how they fall in love and how she dies in childbirth, inspiring her Emperor husband to build a magnificent tomb, one of the most iconic buildings on earth. It has been called ‘a teardrop on the cheek of time’.”

Cast & Creatives

SHAH JAHAN, fifth Mughal emperor ∙ CASPAR SINGH
MUMTAZ MAHAL, his chief consort ∙ JULIA SITKOVETSKY
JAHANARA, their daughter ∙ ELIZABETH KARANI
AURANGZEB, their son, sixth Mughal emperor ∙ ROSS RAMGOBIN
JAHINGIR, Shah Jahan’s father ∙ ROSS RAMGOBIN
NUR JAHAN, Jahingir’s consort ∙ VICTORIA SIMMONDS

CONDUCTOR ∙ GEORGE JACKSON
DIRECTOR ∙ STEPHEN MEDCALF
DESIGNER ∙ YANNIS THAVORIS
VIDEO DESIGN ∙ HAYLEY EGAN
LIGHTING DESIGNER ∙ TIM MITCHELL

Gascoigne Orchestra

Taj Mahal

Shah Jahan

Mumtaz Mahal

Jahanara

Aurangzeb

Jahangir

Nur Jahan