Rhythms of Lanka…. Showcasing the best Sri Lankan musical talent across a generation – By Aubrey Joachim

Rhythms of Lanka…. Showcasing the best Sri Lankan musical talent across a generation – By Aubrey Joachim

On Sunday August 23^rd close to 2,000 Sri Lankan Sydneysiders packed the Sydney Opera House concert hall to be entertained by some of the cream of Sri Lankan music talent cutting across a timeline of perhaps five decades as well as a visual spectacle of traditional Sri Lankan dance performed by talented dancers from Sri Lanka and Sydney.

Leading the cast of singers was Mario Glory Rookantha Goonatillake – popularly known as Rookantha Goonatillake who certainly does not show his age. The Kegalle born 67 year-old who schooled at St Mary’s Kegalle and St. Anthony’s College Kandy where he learned music from the well-known Stanley Peiris has matured like a fine wine. He started his music career as a composer in 1976 and in 1985 vocalised his own composition ‘Bambara Pahasa’. Rookantha has not lost any of his charm or stage appeal and kept the audience enthralled. He has a knack of getting the audience involved in his performance.

At the other end of the age spectrum was a young musical nightingale Janani Imathama who at 21 years of age won the very popular Derena Dream Star Season 12 in 2025. This young lass has a unique singing style and is reminiscent of the famous female Sri Lankan female vocalists of yesteryear such as the late Nanda Malini. Janani is just embarking on what promises to be a long and successful singing career.

It is almost 5 decades between when these two artistes began their singing careers and showcases the richness of musical talent in Sri Lanka.

The other singing performers on the night were Chitral Sompala, Kasun Kalahara and another rising star Kanchana Anuradhi. Guest appearance by Soprano Kishani Jayasinghe and concert pianist Eshan Denepitiya added to the line-up. Visual artistry was presented by elite dancers from the Channa-Upuli Performing Arts Foundation of Sri Lanka together with a host of dancing belles from several dancing schools in Sydney.

Chitral Somapala needs no introduction to Sri Lankan diaspora. Chitral who is based in Germany comes from a musical family being the son of the famous P L A Sompapala and Chitra.  Known as the Asian voice of heavy metal ‘Chitty’ has been performing with European heavy metal bands for quite some time. Over the last few years he has connected with his roots in Sri Lanka and is considered a pioneer of computerised music in the country. Singing for the first time in the Sydney Opera House Chitral belted out some of his Sinhala rock repertoire to the cheers of the audience.

Kanchana Anuradhi – Best Sri Lankan female vocalist 2026 – made her entry into the music scene through the Sirasa TV reality show Sixteen Plus. Following other State level successes and winning school competitions Kanchana has recorded several hit songs. In 2020 she transitioned into commercial stardom. Being extremely pleased to perform on the world famous Sydney Opera stage she performed some of her hit songs accompanied by exotic dancers and even sang a duet with Janani Imathma.

Kasun Kalhara also hails from a musical parentage and has been on the Sri Lankan music scene for over two decades. Kasun performed all his songs in the unique style of sitting on a pub stool wearing sleeveless vests. From the audience appreciation this man certainly draws public appeal.

Two interesting performances filled the middle of the nearly 3-hour show. Renowned Singapore based Sri Lankan pianist Ishan Denepitiya had his fingers skimming the keyboard to produce exhilarating pieces – one a Sinhala classic ‘Olu Pippila’ and the other a popular piece from the Game of Thrones.

Then walked onto the stage Sri Lankan UK trained soprano Kishani Jayasinghe who has performed for HM Queen Elizabeth and even performed for King Charles’ 60^th birthday. The Golden voice of South Asia walked onto the stage saying that no show at the world famous Sydney Opera House would be complete without an Opera singer. Accompanied by Eshan Denepitiya she belted out the popular Sinhalese ballad ‘Olu Nelala’ followed by the 1898 Neopolitan operatic hit ‘O Sole Mio’. The video clip of her performance posted by a fan has gone viral among Sri Lankan diaspora.

Of course the best shows are not complete without impeccable choreography which was provided by Internationally renowned Sri Lankan choreographer Channa Wijewardena. Artistes performances importantly depend on the quality and finesse of the accompanying music and this aspect was provided by the well-known and the highly accomplished musician Sugath Hettiarachchi together with a band comprising musicians from Sri Lanka and locally based Sri Lankan Australians.

Of course a high quality show takes vision, dedication as well as months of planning and hard work to pull off. Rhythms of Sri Lanka was the brainchild of the well-known and popular – but humble and down to earth – Sri Lankan Sydneysider Kithsiri Karunaratne who has produced and presented many musical extravaganzas over the last 45 years through his company Yasiru Multimedia/ Lanka Events. This was his 4^th Sydney Opera House show. Accolades are due to Kithsisri who has ensured that the Sri Lankan diaspora are kept connected to their Sri Lankan cultural and musical roots. Support from the Sri Lankan end was provided by Ada Derena – creators of the popular Derena Dream Star reality music show that is unearthing the next generation of Lankan talent.

Kithsiri, Sri Lankan Sydneysiders salute you and hope you bring to stage many more events in future years!

Enjoy some video clips of the event……..

The author is an Australian citizen of Sri Lankan descent and is a Sydneysider