Opera is often viewed through the lens of tradition—a museum piece preserved in amber, performed exactly as it was centuries ago in Europe. But in South Africa, we are proving that opera is a living, breathing, and deeply relevant art form.
Throughout my career, from directing Bessie: The Blue-Eyed Xhosa to the Five:20 operas at UCT, I have been driven by a singular question: How do we make this art form ours? The answer lies in the stories we choose to tell.
When we bring figures like Chris Hani or Saartjie Baartman to the operatic stage, we are not just performing; we are reclaiming space. We are asserting that our history, our languages, and our heroes are worthy of the grandest artistic treatment. This is not about discarding the classics—Mozart and Puccini will always have their place—but about expanding the canon to include the voices that have been silenced for too long.
The future of opera in South Africa is bright, but it requires courage. It requires funders, directors, and audiences to embrace the new, the experimental, and the locally rooted. As we continue to blend African choral traditions with classical techniques, we are creating something unique—a new school of opera that speaks directly to the soul of our nation.
Questions for Reflection
How do we balance honoring the European operatic tradition with creating space for African stories and voices? What role should language play—should we perform more operas in indigenous languages, or does translation dilute the musical integrity? And perhaps most importantly: who gets to decide which stories are "worthy" of operatic treatment, and how do we ensure that decision-making power includes the communities whose stories are being told?
These are not easy questions, and I do not claim to have all the answers. But I believe the conversation itself is essential. As we move forward, I am eager to hear from fellow directors, composers, funders, and audiences about how we can collectively shape an operatic landscape that is both artistically excellent and culturally authentic.