His Operas
Thyagaraja is the leading pioneer amongst writers of operas. It is in his operas that we see his fully blossemed genius in the realm of music and letters. The following are the only three operas composed by him in Telugu that are splendid compositions and entitle him to be ranked as the greatest writers of operas.
Sitarama Vijayam
Seetharama Vijayam is not so well known as two other operas. The story of this opera relates to Uttara Ramayana
The bare text of this opera was published in 1868 at Madras by Loka Narayana Shashtrulu. Not a single copy of it is now traceble. This is the first opera to be attempted by the great composer.
After writing this opera, the idea occured to him, that he must write an opera pertaining to an avatar prior to Ramavatar and an opera subsequent to Ramavatar. The
result was the Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam and Nowka Charitam. The famous krithis Maa Janaki Chettabettaga(Kambhoji), Vanajanayanodani(Kedaragoula, Adi) belog to this opera.
Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam
It is the longest of the operas. It consists of five acts, 45 songs figure in this play.
The name of the opera is Prahlada Bhakti Vijayam not Prahlada Bhakta Vijayam.
It is a triumph of Prahlada's bhakthi that is significantly sought to be conveyed in thhis opera and not the lifestory of Pahlada.
Appropriately enough Thyagaraja has introduced some incidents not found in the original story Prahlada Charitram
| Sl # | Krithi | Raga | Tala | Rendered by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act 1 - 01 | SrI-ganapatinI | sourAstra | Adi | MDR , SK , Sanjay |
| Act 1 - 02 | vAsudeva-yani | kalyANi | Adi | Radha-Jayalakshmi , GNB , |
| Act 1 - 03 | sAgarundu | yamunAkalyANi | rUpaka | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 1 - 04 | vinatAsuta | husEni | Adi | S-Ramanathan , Ramamurthy , |
| Act 1 - 05 | vishnu-vAhana | ShankarABharaNa | rUpaka | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 1 - 06 | vAridhi-nIku | tOdi | Triputa | DKP , |
| Act 1 - 07 | vacchunu-hari | kalyANi | chApu | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 2 - 01 | vandanamu | sahanA | Adi | DKJ , Nedunuri , TNS |
| Act 2 - 02 | etla-kanukondu | GhanTA | chApu | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 2 - 03 | indukA-I-tanuvu | punnAgavarALi | chApu | |
| Act 2 - 04 | nijamaitE | Bhairavi | chApu | Somu , |
| Act 2 - 05 | nAradamuni | panthuvarALi | chApu | MSS , TRS , |
| Act 2 - 06 | ipudaina-nannu | Arabhi | chApu | |
| Act 3 - 01 | ennagamanasuku | nIlAmbari | Adi | Alathur-Brothers , SSI-MSS , TRS |
| Act 3 - 02 | eTi-janmamidi | varaLi | Triputa | DKP , Oleti , |
| Act 3 - 03 | entanuchu-varnintu | sourAstra | chApu | |
| Act 3 - 04 | Enati-nOmuphalamO | Bhairavi | Adi | SSI-MSS , TRS , |
| Act 4 - 01 | nannu-brOva | ShankarABharaNa | chApu | GNB , |
| Act 4 - 02 | adugu-varamula | Arabhi | chApu | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 4 - 03 | vArija-nayana | kEdAragouLa | Adi | OST , Suseela-Ramaswami , |
| Act 4 - 04 | tanalOne | devagAndhari | Adi | |
| Act 4 - 05 | O-rAma-O-rAma | Arabhi | Adi | BMK-Chorus , |
| Act 4 - 06 | SrI-rAma-jayarAma | madhyamAvati | Adi | Manakkal , Ramamurthy , |
| Act 4 - 07 | sarasIruha-nayana | bilahari | chApu | |
| Act 4 - 08 | vaddayundE | varaLi | chApu | Suguna-Varadachari , |
| Act 4 - 09 | tIrunA | sAvEri | Jhampa | Unknown , |
| Act 4 - 10 | rAmabhirAma-raghurAma | sAvEri | Jhampa | Mani-Krishnaswami , |
| Act 4 - 11 | dayarani | mOhana | Adi | Nedunuri , MLV , |
| Act 4 - 12 | dayasEyavayyA | yadukula-kAmbhOji | Adi | RK , |
| Act 4 - 13 | AnandamAnanda | Bhairavi | Adi | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 5 - 01 | nannuvidachi | rItigouLa | chApu | DKJ , MDR , Santanam |
| Act 5 - 02 | andundAkane | panthuvarALi | Triputa | Geetha , |
| Act 5 - 03 | Emani-vEgintunE | husEni | Adi | DKJ , Nedunuri , Kanaka-Durga |
| Act 5 - 04 | entapApinaiti | gouLipantu | chApu | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 5 - 05 | O-jagannAtha | kEdAragouLa | Adi | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 5 - 06 | chelimini | yadukula-kAmbhOji | Adi | Santanam , Ramamurthy , |
| Act 5 - 07 | pAhi-kalYana-rAma | kApi | Adi | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 5 - 08 | rArA-mAyintidAkA | asAvEri | Adi | Nedunuri , MLV , TVS |
| Act 5 - 09 | kamalabhavudu | kalyANi | chApu | MVR-Murthy , |
| Act 5 - 10 | dorakunAyani | tOdi | rUpaka | |
| Act 5 - 11 | challare | ahiri | chApu | Nedunuri , MSS , Nookula-Chinna-Satyanarayana |
| Act 5 - 12 | jaya-mangalam | mOhana | Jhampa | Ramamurthy , |
| Act 5 - 12 | jaya-mangalam | GhanTA | Jhampa | BMK-Chorus , SRGBM , |
| Act 5 - 13 | varamaina | pharaju | chApu | |
| Act 5 - 14 | nI-nAmarUpa | sourAstra | Adi | SK , Manda-Sudharani , |
Nowka Charitam
This opera is the most popular amonst Thyagaraja's operas. It is an opera in one act consisting of 5 scenes. It tells the story of a boat excursuion on river Yamuna, the party consisting of Krishna and 20 Gopis.
It is a creation of Thyagaraja's imagination and has no basis in the Bhagavatam.
The opera can be downloaded here : Feature 1 ,
Feature 2
| Sl # | Krithi | Raga | Tala | Rendered by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song 01 | Srngarinchukoni | suruTi | Adi | Trichy-Sadguru-Samajam , BMK , |
| Song 02 | ADavAramella | yadukula-kAmbhOji | chApu | BMK , TSS , |
| Song 03 | chUdarE-chelulAra | panthuvarALi | chApu | BMK , TSS , |
| Song 04 | Emani-neranammu | sourAstra | chApu | T-RV , |
| Song 05 | EmEmO-teliyaka | sourAstra | chApu | BMK , TSS , |
| Song 06 | O-Danu-jaripE | sAranga | Adi | BMK , Unknown , |
| Song 07 | tanayandE-prEma | Bhairavi | chApu | Unknown , |
| Song 08 | E-nOmu-nOchitimO | punnAgavarALi | rUpaka | BMK , TSS , |
| Song 09 | chAlu-chAlu | sAvEri | rUpaka | BMK , TSS , |
| Song 10 | Chutamu-rAre | kApi | chApu | |
| Song 11 | evaru-manaku | devagAndhari | Adi | Unknown , |
| Song 12 | unnatAvuna | GhanTA | chApu | Unknown , |
| Song 13 | allakallOla | sourAstra | Adi | BMK , Satguru-Samajam , |
| Song 14 | perugu-pAlu | GhanTA | Adi | Unknown , |
| Song 15 | krishna-mAkemi | punnAgavarALi | chApu | Trichy-Sadguru-Samajam , |
| Song 16 | indukEmi | varaLi | Triputa | Unknown , |
| Song 17 | vedavAkyamani | mOhana | chApu | BMK , Trichy-Satguru-Samajam , |
| Song 18 | hari-hari-nIyokka | punnAgavarALi | Adi | Unknown , |
| Song 19 | gandhamu | punnAgavarALi | Adi | BMK , Unknown , |
| Song 20 | Ghuma-Ghuma | sourAstra | Triputa | Trichy-Sadguru-Samajam , |
| Song 21 | mAkulamuna | suruTi | chApu | Trichy-Sadguru-Samajam , |