Cula Mzansi: Towards Strategic Transformation of Operatic Culture in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

This article outlines a critical analysis of two of a series of three operas that were produced by Gauteng Opera, South Africa, and presented at the Soweto Theatre in 2016 under the generic title of Cula Mzansi (which means “Sing South Africa”). The three operas were Bongani Ndodana-Breen's Hani, Peter Klatzow's Words from a Broken String, and Martin Watt's Tronkvoël, with the first two being the subject of the current analysis. The authors argue that the inclusion of indigenous themes and elements in these operas may be read as a strategic ploy that was meant to transform the operatic form and give it local cultural relevance and appeal. The purpose of the analysis was to assist current and future generations of South African theatregoers to experience some of the possible ways in which the operatic form can be transformed. This transformation is deemed necessary in order to make opera more appealing to the majority of previously disadvantaged black South Africans, notwithstanding the genre's negative historical baggage in many parts of the world where it is largely viewed as an elite form. The authors argue that the inclusion of decidedly indigenous South African cultural elements in these operas in terms of music, costume and setting allowed for the depiction of stories that could more easily relate to the majority of previously marginalised South African communities. They further argue that this strategy had the potential to localise and decolonise this cultural art form in ways deliberately meant to reach a much wider appeal in post- apartheid South Africa.