‘Rise and Die’, an operetta produced by the Sisters of the handmaids of Christ and scripted and
directed by Rev Dr Allan Tavares, SFX, is a delight to the eyes, sweet music to
the ears and insight to the mind. One can smell the odour of excellence in the
entire show. The captivating scenes and scintillating performances in song,
dance and dialogue set a heart-rendering narrative plot in front of the
audience to perfection. There is a non-stereotypical air about the show. The
lights, sounds, music and angelic voices blend beautifully. The narrators
become actors and actors retune as narrators. The show artfully crosses
boundaries between action and dance, without taking the viewer’s attention away
from the main actors in whose background the children put up dance or played
games. It all looksnatural and not staged as one scene flows into the other.
The background curtain doubles up as a screen that dishes out
cinematic clips and images that take the plot to its depths and heights,
creating an atmosphere of exuberant infotainment. It has the spiritual merging
beautifully with the social side of life as it carefully portrays the plight of
the girl child entangled in a patriarchal and caste laden world.
The operetta depicts the holy life of Fr Herculano Gonsalves and
was presented on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary. Fr Gonslaves has
the distinction of founding the Congregation the sisters of handmaids of
Christ. It is indeed a fitting tribute to a great man of God who gave his all
for the emancipation of the girl child of his time and founded a society of
religious women to continue the noble mission.
Through the musical presentation, the audience sees how the life
of Fr Gonsalves influenced his sisters from the congregation he founded as well
as understands how the operetta was their way of filling up the void that calls
them to honour him and let him be known through the expression of a great
operetta. Indeed, it is an offering of their labour endured with tremendous
love and affection for Fr Gonsalves and his mission to the girl child.
Fr Allan rolls out a powerful script and directs its enactment
on the stage to perfection. Fr Bolmax Pereira shines as Fr Gonsalves and takes
the audience to a theatrical ecstasy through his dialogue delivery, acting and
melodious voice rendering to the songs. The work of composers and the arrangers
(Rabin D’Pietro, Terryll Coutinho, Fr Bolmax and Kate D’souza) flows like a
stream of water, soothing ears and setting the atmospherics for the scenes. The
other members of the cast, which includes priests, men and women, girls and
boys, put up a great show of their talent. The choreographers and the stage
mangers bring life to the operetta through their dynamic labours. The stage
set-ups, props and video productions that adorn the stage beautifully and
enhance the performance as well as the presentation of operetta emphasise that
it is a fruit of tireless labour and even sleepless nights.
The videos that sharpen the narrative plot were skilfully
produced by Sr Sunita Barreto. The credit of the entire show goes to the
handmaids of Christ, particularly to the team that coordinated the production.
Young, dynamic and hugely talented Sr Bernadette Furtado, Sr Dorothy D’souza
and Sr Magdalina Silveira formed the team that became the pillars of strength
that carried the great show to its completion with great diligence. When asked
about the tremendous success of the show, Sr Bernadette humbly says, “I give
credit to God. God brings out the best in us in spite of our weaknesses.”
The operetta captures the life of Fr Gonsalves and enables the
members of the public to take his mission forward by drawing inspiration from
him. In a very real way, it is a look back into the heroic life of Fr Gonsalves
to enable the audience as well as the harbingers of the show to look ahead and
carry his mission to the girl child. One must agree that the operetta succeeds
in these aspects. It sets the audience thinking and nurtures a desire to go
into the depths of life and ministry of Fr Gonsalves so as to reach out to the
girl child who is facing rape, murder and other indignities in our country.
Anzisha Kandolkar, one of the actors in the operetta says it
beautifully: “Being part of the musical drama, ‘Rise and Die’, has brought me
even closer to an extraordinary and saintly visionary of Fr Gonsalves, who saw
ahead of his time and was valiant enough to recognise and rectify what was
wrong in the society of his time. He inspires us to continue making the world
beautiful by working for the dignity of the girl child.”
Another actor, Zeeba Tiegel says, “Rejuvenated and moved by an
experience of being part of ‘Rise and Die’, I wish to inch closer to the dream
every woman in India sees; to give my might to the empowerment of the girl
child in our society.”
“‘Rise and Die’ is a dream come true and we have debts to pay to
our God, founding Father Gonsalves, sisters of our congregation, production
team, actors, musicians and most of all, to Fr Allan, who set our dream into
actuality,” sums up Sr Faria, Superior General, with joy and a sense of
contentment.
Indeed,
the operetta on the life and ministry of Fr Gonsalves urges us on to reach out
to the ailing girl child in our society in Goa and our country and make that
difference that matters to a vital half of our humanity.
