The Royal Opera House, Mumbai Celebrates Ten Years of Cultural Revival

A decade ago, the curtains rose once again on one of Mumbai's most magnificent architectural and cultural landmarks. Through October 2026, the Royal Opera House, Mumbai, is celebrating ten years since its historic restoration and reopening, marking a triumphant decade since the venue opened its doors following a 25-year hiatus. Adding to the significance, this year also marks 110 years since the completion of the Royal Opera House in 1916.

A Century of Cultural Heritage

The history of the Royal Opera House goes back to the early decades of the twentieth century. Inaugurated in 1911 by King George V, the Opera House was completed in 1916 and was regarded at the time as one of the “finest theatres in the East.” Over the decades, the space witnessed the changing cultural life of Mumbai and was eventually converted into a cinema before closing its doors. The Royal Opera House has been owned by the Royal Family of Gondal since the 1950s. Its restoration was undertaken under the leadership and patronage of the Maharaja of Gondal, Shri Jyotendrasinhji. Today, the Opera House is under the leadership of His Highness Maharajasaheb Shri Himanshusinghji of Gondal, Her Highness Rajmatasaheb Kumud Kumari of Gondal, and Honorary Director Ashish Doshi.

The Restoration and a New Vision

After more than 25 years of closure, the Royal Opera House reopened in October 2016 following an extensive restoration. The work was recognised with an Award of Merit at the 2017 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Since reopening, under the curatorial leadership of Asad Lalljee, CEO of Avid Learning, the Opera House has become one of Mumbai’s leading cultural spaces, bringing together performance, literature, music, dance, theatre, heritage and conversations within its historic spaces.

Avid Learning’s curatorial vision is genre-agnostic, multiverse programming, and it rests on several interconnected ideas. The first is range: going well beyond opera and classical music to incorporate contemporary art forms, experimental theatre, fusion performances, literature, cinema, and social advocacy. The second is access: providing a stage for both established international artists and emerging local talent, building a dynamic artistic community rather than presenting isolated headline events. The third is adaptability: curating both offline and online programmes in response to changing demands. We lend our stage to dance, debate, discourse, and anything that defies easy categorisation.

Speaking about the milestone, Asad Lalljee, Curator, Royal Opera House, Mumbai, said, “I was honored to be given this position a few months before we reopened. That was around May of 2016. And we had planned a robust curatorial strategy to make the Opera House part of the cultural fabric of Mumbai. It has been a democratic place where we have supported the established and the masters and also the emerging artists. The restoration of the Royal Opera House not only has revitalized our stage, but also the neighborhood. It has supported the creative economy, bringing prominence not just to our building, but to the neighborhood that goes by the same name. We are delighted to be celebrating this ten-year hallmark anniversary. And I am excited to see the next ten years, which will hopefully bring back many of the artists and performers who've been with us, with their new shows, new acts, and also create experiences that Mumbai will never forget.”

2026 at the Opera House

2026 has continued this approach to programming, moving across literature, Western classical music, Indian classical and devotional traditions, jazz, contemporary performance, heritage, architecture, storytelling and the visual arts. The year began with Jnanpith Award-winning author Amitav Ghosh on the Royal Opera House stage for the fourth time, launching his novel Ghost-Eye. It was followed by a trilogy of Western classical performances, including a vocal recital, From Dawn to Dream, by baritone Frazan Adil Kotwal, presented with the German Consulate. Pianist Katya Grineva followed with an evening of Romantic piano, shortly after her 23rd season at Carnegie Hall. The month closed with Songs of Unity by Russia's M. Turetsky Choir and soprano soloists.

In February, the Benny Greb Brass Band headlined the Jazz India Circuit, and The S.T.A.R.S: Motown Magic brought Motown songs and dance to the stage. It was followed by Indian musical traditions, including devotional and classical, with Ramam Bhaje by vocalist Sooryagayathri; Sufi and Bhakti tradition with Aalam-e-Ishq by Padmi Shri Shubha Mudgal, a celebration of love poetry, and Ibaadat: Songs of the Sacred by Sonam Kalra; poetry set to music followed in Only Nazms by Kavita Seth, and the Opera House then filled with the sound of qawwali when Aanchal Shrivastava returned or Qawwali Ki Shaam. Avanti Patel's O Gaanewali brought a monsoon evening of thumri, dadra and ghazal, in honour of the tawaifs who carried these traditions.

Maharshi Pandya's The Gujarati Project, celebrated Gujarat's songs and stories, and Laksh Maheshwari moved from music to storytelling, first in Khushiyan: A Journey to Find Joy and then in Ishq Sufiyana, on the poetry of the Sufi saints. Literature continues to be a robust pillar of curation through conversations celebrating books. Shivya Nath’s Rootless and Restless: The Art of Sustainable Travel brought together travel, ecology, tourism and community. Akshay Chavan’s The Wealth Networks: How Geography Made History marked the Mumbai launch of his book on the roads, rivers and seas that connected the subcontinent. Sunhil Sippy’s Raceday looked at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse as part of Mumbai’s social and cultural history. Sarnath Banerjee’s Absolute Jafar explored the idea of home in a unique evening of storytelling, music, and images.

The Anniversary Evening

The tenth anniversary celebrations will continue this approach while responding directly to the architecture of the Opera House itself. The celebrations will begin with a projection mapping experience by Floating Canvas Company, using light, image and sound to transform the historic architecture and offer audiences a different way of experiencing the building. This will be followed by Tabla & Sons, a live musical and visual performance bringing together eight tablas, live drums and percussion, sitar and flute, guitars and keytar, and six vocalists. Moving between Indian classical influences, Bollywood favourites and contemporary fusion, the performance will unfold alongside the changing projection experience, bringing music and visual storytelling together within the Opera House.