මානෙල් ජයසේන
4 songs performed
Manel Jayasena (මානෙල් ජයසේන), born Luxmi Manel Illangakoon on 23 November 1938, was a Sri Lankan stage and television actress whose singing on the Sinhala dramatic stage left a lasting mark. She is remembered both for her acting and for the drama songs she performed, almost all written by her husband, the dramatist Henry Jayasena.
Manel Jayasena came to the stage in 1963, at the age of 25, in the play Kuveni, a performance that earned recognition at the State Drama Festival. She had married Henry Jayasena in 1962, and most of the productions she appeared in were directed by him. Her best-known acting role was Grusha in Hunuwataye Kathawa, Henry Jayasena’s celebrated Sinhala adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
The recordings credited to Manel Jayasena are drama songs, pieces written for the theatre rather than for commercial release, which gives her catalogue its distinct character. The lyrics across these songs were written by Henry Jayasena, with music by composers including H. H. Bandara and Shelton Premaratne.
From Kuveni come Sath Siyak Kapu Mal (සත් සියක් කපු මල්) and Nohandanu Kumaruni, while Hela Gamburui, often listed as the Wel Palama song (වැල් පාලමේ ගීතය), is among her most enduring performances. Her voice carried these theatrical pieces with a clear, melodic restraint that suited the stage.
Beyond the stage, Manel Jayasena worked in television, winning the award for Best Teledrama Actress at the 1995 Sumathi Awards for her role in Ge Kurullo. Together with Henry Jayasena, she was part of a household central to the development of modern Sinhala theatre, and the songs she sang remain tied to the plays that defined that era.
Every Sinhala lyric, composition, and song credit by Manel Jayasena.