Dmitri Gunatilake has shown her talents to audiences as a singer and stage actress over the years. An Attorney–at–Law who possesses an LLB degree from the University of London, she has made notable strides to prove her prowess as an artiste. She presented to music lovers her first solo performance in August 2015, and has since been going forward pursuing her interests as a soprano.
On Friday, April 29, at St. Joseph’s College Church, 45 Subhadrarama Lane, Nugegoda, Dmitri will present her latest solo concert titled ‘You will be found.
This show will commence at 7.30 pm and last one hour and fifteen minutes. In this Q and A feature to the Sunday Observer, Dmirti shares details about the upcoming show as well as her sentiments about her art as a singer.
Q: Over the years you have shown your talents in music as both a thespian and a vocalist. What appeals to you more between these two forms of performances?
A: I consider myself primarily a singer. A singer who likes to emote through song. This has led me to land several roles in musicals and then in a few straight plays and although I’ve enjoyed the process and experience of theatre, I think performing a song on stage is more my safe zone. Not too sure which appeals more because they’re two different experiences. But to answer the question, I’m guess being a vocalist will always be my first choice.
Q: As a singer what are your favourite genres, and what makes you connect with them?
A: Oddly, I don’t have a preferred of genre nor band or singer as such. Whatever song I hear and can relate to the tune and words and can sing projecting those emotions, I connect with.
Q: Has your experiences in doing solo shows, developed your vision as an artiste?
A: They have. I’ve learned so much more than just getting on stage and singing. I’ve learnt a little to do big details of putting a performance together. From balancing sound, to lighting, to working with the correct balance of musicians. The list goes on, which I think has vastly developed my vision and what needs to be put in to become an artiste as a whole.
Q: You are now preparing for your latest show ‘You Will Be Found’, which is to be held on April 29. In this show which is themed on gospel and inspirational songs, what kind of musical performance styles can be expected? Will there be classical as well as gospel rock items? What can you tell the readers of Sunday Observer about this upcoming show?
A: There’ll be mix of classical and musical songs. Most of which are known and have been made popular by several artistes. I feel this will help the audience relate more to the program, compared to singing an unfamiliar song, although beautiful, will be not so easy to relate to. Some of which are ‘The Prayer’ made popular by Andrea Bocceli and Celine Dion, ‘I Will Follow Him’ from the movie Sister Act, ‘When You Believe’ from the movie and musical The Prince of Egypt, and I will be singing a Sinhala hymn and it’ll be the first time I will be singing in Sinhala at one of my shows.
There’ll also be a congregational hymn which the audience can take part in, this will help them truly be a part of this show and journey.
Q: Who are your creative collaborators in this event, and how long did it take you to plan and organise this show?
A: I’ll be accompanied by my vocal trainer Menaka de Fonseka Sahabandu on piano, her daughter Tiyanie Sahabandu on violin, Dhanuksha Seneviratne on keys, who is the son of my first vocal trainer the late Ruwani Seimon, Charith Fernando on drums and Shalintha Rodrigo on bass. The guest artistes will be Rehan Almeida, who I’ve acted with before, in both Evita and The Phantom of the Opera, and backed by The Menaka Singers and a few of my own students and past pupils of Bishops College, who were in the choir with me in school.
I actually planned this show two years ago but couldn’t start on it because of the pandemic, so execution of this show for this year started about two months ago.
Q: Every performer who performs on stage dreams of doing a show to a full house and receiving a standing ovation at the end of the performance, but thinking beyond that, as an artiste what would you wish to see your audience ‘take home’ as their ‘experience’ after witnessing ‘You Will Be Found’?
A: I’m someone who loves to communicate the emotions of each song to the audience and take them on the emotional journey that I am experiencing while performing a song. So I hope, amidst all the chaos and turmoil that everyone is facing at present, that I would give them a moment of relief, hope and joy through song for the duration of the show.