With the voice as smooth as silk, Pratibha Singh Baghel had everyone in awe as she shared an unplugged performance at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town, which is the same venue where the production will be held on January 27.
The songstress is in Mzansi to perform her world premier performance show “Symphony of Love”.
The 32-year-old boasts the ability to effortlessly sing a broad range of genres including hits of the greats, such as Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Jagjit Singh, to name a few. Baghel was the recipient of the Lata Mangeshkar Alankaran Award in 2008.
IOL Entertainment caught up with Baghel ahead of her show.
Overwhelmed to be in Cape Town, Baghel said she adored the love she received since her arrival.
“I had so much excitement to be coming here and the love I have received since my arrival, has made my excitement grow so much more. I am really overwhelmed by the love and support. The people here are really lovely.
“’Symphony of Love’ is a combination of Eastern and Western music and it’s amazing to have our Indian music playing with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.”
Baghel is known for her songs in movies, as well as the hit web series “Bandish Bandits”.
She has featured in the highly acclaimed stage production “Mughal-E-Azam”.
Baghel started singing at 3. She started singing professionally at 14.
“If you are blessed with the art of music, you must give time to it. The legends who have gone before me, have paved a way for me in the kind of music I do.
“If there was one artist I’d like to share the stage with it would be Celine Dion.”
“Symphony of Love” is conceptualised, produced, and presented by Inner Circle Entertainment, which has established a successful track record of presenting musical giants such as Zakir Hussain, Pt Shivkumar Sharma, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Jagjit Singh, Maher Zain, and many more in South Africa.
Inner Circle Entertainment is a pioneer in East West musical collaborations and has produced many world-first productions featuring cross cultural collaborations between Indian and Middle Eastern music, jazz and western orchestral music.
Inner Circle has conceptualised and produced the highly acclaimed world first collaborations of “Symphony of Ghazal” (Deepak Pandit), “Maher Zain” and “Symphony of Santoor” (Rahul Sharma), all with Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
Nisaar Pangarker of Inner Circle said the production is not a cultural exchange but rather a fusion of Eastern and Western music.
“The two fuse together and isn’t a cultural exchange of music, there is a difference in the cultural exchange and the actual fusion of music.
“Our audience in South Africa are unique. We crafted a show specifically for Cape Town and one for Joburg. The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra is really an orchestra for all seasons and it can’t be easy putting all this together.”
The Joburg show won’t have the orchestra joining but will be a more intimate show with the internationally acclaimed nine-piece band from India.
“Symphony of Love” plays on Sunday, January 29 at the Lyric Theatre in Joburg.
The shows are sold out.