Candlelight Concerts offer a magical fusion of music and ambiance, creating an intimate and immersive experience for audiences. Held in dimly lit settings with the warm glow of hundreds of candles, these events transform traditional concert spaces into enchanting environments, making the performances feel both personal and captivating. Live Your City, falling under the American company Fever Labs Inc., is wooing Mumbaikars with their captivating Candle Light concerts. Recently, the Royal Opera House in South Mumbai was lit up for a tribute to Frank Sinatra. On September 27, the historical landmark will be decked up again for ‘From Mozart to Chopin’, transporting the audiences to the golden age of music.

Ahead of the concert, we spoke to Deepa Bajaj, India’s Country Manager for Live Your City, about its planning and more.

Excerpts from the interview:

What was the driving force behind bringing a candlelight concert to Mumbai?

Live Your City, a brand under the American company Fever Labs Inc., constantly strives to inspire our community with innovative experiences, creating new ideas that we know will be of interest to them. We launched Candlelight Concerts in 2019 as an extension of our existing traditional classical music events, recognising the need to make classical music more accessible to a wider audience and reaching beyond the core demographic of classical music enthusiasts. Since we’ve started, we have brought Candlelight Concerts to more than 150 cities worldwide, having delighted millions of guests. Following the worldwide success, we have launched Candlelight concerts in India in June and are rapidly expanding to new locations throughout the country. Mumbai's status as India's entertainment capital and cultural melting pot made it an ideal location to introduce this innovative concert format. The city's cosmopolitan population, known for its openness to new experiences, aligned perfectly with our goal of making classical music accessible to a wider audience.

To reach a wider audience that might have never considered a classical music concert before, the experience reimagines the traditional concert format, implementing changes that proved highly successful. We condensed the duration from the typical 90 minutes to a more approachable 60 minutes, hosted performances in unique spaces beyond formal concert halls, and diversified the repertoire to encompass a broad spectrum of themes and genres, including tributes to contemporary artists such as The Beatles, Queen, ABBA, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, and movie soundtracks, all alongside the timeless compositions of classical masters and well-known homegrown artists. We've also expanded the repertoire in India to reimagine these tributes, incorporating not just Western classical music but also Indian classical music and instruments like the sarangi and tabla.

What are some of the logistical challenges of organising a candlelight concert? How do you balance the visual aspects (candlelight) with the auditory experience (music)? Is there a particular genre or style that works best in this setting?

Live Your City’s team takes care of every detail of the Candlelight concerts: from choosing the location, musicians and program recommendations, marketing, and ticketing, to the setup of the concerts in each city. 

To ensure Candlelight's success, it is necessary to understand the desires of our audience and the trends, and to manage all the teams involved in this project to ensure its expansion. There is a fine line between artistic intuition and the public's taste. Fortunately, and this is where the Candlelight model stands out, we benefit from a vast database based on concerts that take place in more than 150 cities worldwide and which alternate between hundreds of musical programs. There is no crystal ball, there is just data that tells us what to play, when, where, for whom, and how!

In India for example, we were quickly able to adapt to local audiences’ tastes and present special music programs such as Indian movie soundtracks, tribute to Punjabi Hits, and yet to announce more local programs paying tribute to local well-known artists. 

How do you choose the right location for these events?

When choosing the venue for the concerts, we take into account different criteria: its history, ambiance and what it represents for the city, its location so that it is accessible to all, and more technical characteristics such as the acoustics of the room and lightning, for example. 

Candlelight Concerts are known for bringing classical music out of traditional concert halls and into unique venues that form part of each city’s cultural heritage. Our venues stand out in their historic nature or singular character, spanning from modern rooftops with great views to iconic cathedrals and palaces.

The Royal Opera House Mumbai is an iconic venue, with its rich heritage and architectural grandeur. We are excited to see it transformed by our internationally known candlelit ambiance. 

How do you ensure the atmosphere remains intimate while accommodating the audience?

To maintain an intimate atmosphere while accommodating our audience, we arrange seating to foster closeness and use thousands of LED candles to transform our selected venues in immersive settings, enhancing the listening experience. Our musicians engage the audience through direct communication and interactive elements to create a personal connection to each show. Additionally, photos and videos are not allowed during the performance, except during the final song when the musicians invite the audience to capture the moment. These elements ensure the experience feels exclusive, intimate and personal.

Do you find that the candlelight enhances the emotional depth of the music?

Definitely, these aspects add a visual and dynamic dimension to the concerts, making them even more captivating and immersive. Not only that, but with the thousands of candles creating an intimate atmosphere and our lovely, talented musicians that establish strong connections with the audience by interacting and speaking to them directly, as well as sharing information about the artists for the tribute they’re performing, we are able to present a uniquely intimate experience. The goal of Candlelight, of course, is to democratize access to this genre by other demographic groups, and very often, these groups consist of ‘beginners’. The musicians very often keep this in mind and, to that end, share information and personal insights about the programme they’re performing throughout the show. Compared to traditional classical performances, where the audience sits through the whole concert without further interaction, we’ve realized our guests and potential buyers really appreciate this interactive aspect.

How do you select the artists or performers for a candlelight concert?

We have an in-house music curation team which is constantly looking to hire talented local musicians who align with our belief that classical music can reach a diverse audience and demonstrate this by performing compositions for all tastes. We always source local musicians with a history of proven excellence through training at conservatories and performance with highly regarded orchestras and chamber ensembles.

What do you believe the future holds for candlelight concerts?

Live Your City’s plan is to increase our reach and position as the platform that the public can count on to discover the best experiences in their city. With the Candlelight concerts, our mission is to democratize access to classical music, whether Indian or Western, while working with unique spaces that are part of each city's cultural heritage, giving visibility to talented local artists, and bringing a wide variety of programs to attend local audiences' expectations and meet all tastes. 

After having delighted audiences with many concerts in several cities worldwide, we are happy to expand our reach in India and offer people the opportunity to experience our concerts in different cities across the country. 

Which other cities do you plan to take it to? 

Audiences can now enjoy shows in stunning venues across the country, from the Royal Opera House of Mumbai or EKA Club of Ahmedabad, to Radisson Blu in Pune or Rajasthan International Centre in Jaipur, and many more in New Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Meerut.