Mumbai’s Celia Lobo, country’s only opera diva, keeps quiet | Bombay News

MUMBAI: After a long illness, Celia Lobo, the country’s only opera diva, passed away on June 18. She spent her final moments at her home in Mumbai, surrounded by her son Ashley Lobo and other family members.

Dancer and choreographer Ashley, founder and artistic director of The Danceworx (TDX) and Navdhara India Dance Theater (NIDT), called his mother “a master voice teacher, musical theater director, business leader, wife, mother And much more “. …” in an Instagram post. “I am because of you… you taught me everything,” he posted in remembrance.

Celia’s daughter, US-based Deirdre Lobo, founder and artistic director of the Celia Lobo Academy of Voice (CLAV) and the One Voice Institute of Music and Art (OVIMA Global), who is herself a performer and acclaimed vocal coach, called her mother her “greatest inspiration and India’s only living opera diva” in a Facebook post. “She not only passed on her musical wisdom to me as my very first teacher, but she also left an indelible mark on the music industry by teaching some of the biggest names and directing remarkable shows and musicals. “

Celia came into her own in the 1960s, being one of the female leaders of the Bombay Madrigal Singers’ Organization (BMSO), which organized operas in the city. She played the female lead in “Tosca” by Giacomo Puccini, “Lucia di Lammermoor” by Gaetano Donizetti, “La Traviata” and “Rigoletto” by Giuseppe Verdi and “Norma” by Vincenzo Bellini. At the time, she was the go-to person for anyone looking to put on a good show.

In her later years, even though she no longer had the strength to sing, Celia continued to be surrounded by music. “Soon after waking up each morning, I would pray with her, sing to her, play some of her opera arias and videos of different opera artists. Music was his life. She was surrounded by music from her childhood until the last days of her life. Everything about the music comforted her,” Deirdre recalls.

In an earlier interview from 2019, Celia told this writer: “I’ve been listening to opera since I was little. It became a part of my life because both my parents were singers. And I got into opera; because they loved opera, so I loved opera.

His childhood was bathed in music: his father sang Western classical music and played the piano, his mother was also a singer and his aunt was a violinist. Family influenced young Celia’s mind. She then studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London and then worked with the BMSO on her return to India. Over the years, she has also staged plays and musicals and given concerts in Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Nepal and Sri Lanka, among others.

After the BMSO disbanded in 1970, Celia continued her interest in music by becoming a voice and speech coach. Some of the students she has mentored include Shiamak Davar, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shweta Shetty, Sunita Rao and Neethi Mohan. Several of his students went on to build careers as professional singers. “She had a huge impact on the students,” Deirdre recalls. “I was inundated with messages (on social media). She was not only a teacher but a friend and confidante to her students. She also helped people with personal problems. She was that kind of woman.

In addition to being an accomplished musician, she has also worked as a business executive – serving as the Southeast Asia regional managing director for the New York-headquartered Chemical Bank (between 1824 and 1996) . She worked at the Nariman Point bank branch. Subsequently, she served as executive assistant to Deep Anand, Chairman of Gabriel India Ltd, a major player in the auto components industry.

In her later years, Celia continued to attend concerts, with a walker and unprecedented excitement, for as long as she could. Even though her illness took over and she became weaker, Celia never complained. “She had a lot of courage and love,” Deirdre said.

As the city’s music fans mourn the passing of this cultural icon, this writer remembers how Celia described her love of opera: “It’s a great drama set to music. And the music itself touches my heart and soul. That was it for me. That’s all I knew about music.