The Manganiyar Seduction

The Manganiyar Seduction is one of the most original and mesmerising live performances on earth and it’s coming to Brisbane for 2 nights in March.

The visually and musically stunning masterpiece features 40 musicians from three generations of Manganiyars performing in a 36-windowed ‘jewel box’, with the songs slowly building to giddying heights. 

Celebrating the music of the Manganiyars, a caste of desert musicians from the heart of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, The Manganiyar Seduction was first created by Director Abel Royston to open the Delhi Film Festival in 2006. Its rousing success, incredible originality and intense musicality has seen it tour the globe ever since, receiving long-held standing ovations all over the world, from Salzburg and Vienna, to New York, Singapore, Washington, Paris and Hong Kong.

Forty musicians are seated in 36 red-curtained cubicles arranged in four horizontal rows one on top of the other; and the concert begins when a single cubicle lights up and the first singer begins his song. Soon another cubicle lights up and then another thus creating a dramatic and astounding build-up of musical instruments and voice as these extraordinary Manganiyar musicians transport audiences to another world.

As the ensemble grows in number and the sound gathers momentum, the skin-pricking climax is heralded by an sumptuous light show as all the pods glow and pulsate along with the musical rhythms in an extraordinary original concept, brilliantly executed.

Behind the concept is a dazzling union between the Manganiyar's music and the visual seduction of Amsterdam's red light district. The set is a combination of the Hawa Mahal Palace in Jaipur and the red light district, and is often compared to a jewel box.

Described by the New York Times as “rapturous ... jaw-dropping ... buoyant ... compelling ...tranquil” and, from the Irish Independent, “The effect is like that of a gospel mass or slow building rave: a joyous communal experience of the seductive power of Music”, this is a once-in-a-lifetime show not to be missed.

The Manganiyar Seduction is a valued partner of Must Do Brisbane.com