SARA BAARTMAN – THE OPERA. By Hendrik Hofmeyr. Director: Janice Honeyman. Associate director: Zenobia Kloppers. Conductor: Jeremy Silver. Choreographer: Celeste Botha. Cast: Bongiwe Nakani, Lwazi Dlamini, Christine Bamand and students of the UCT Opera School with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. Baxter.
BEVERLEY BROMMERT reviews
An ably managed collaboration between the UCT School of Opera and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, with assistance from Cape Town Opera, has resulted in a notable première of South African composer Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Sara Baartman – the Opera.
Directed with a sure hand by veteran Janice Honeyman, Hofmeyr’s operatic celebration of an icon who epitomises abused womanhood in a callously paternalistic society brings the character to life as we trace her journey from Africa to Europe, from one form of misery to another.
Two major strengths of Hofmeyr’s score are the eclectic incorporation of appropriate melodies (Khoi, Nguni, Afrikaans and French), and the evocative use of changing rhythms to promote moods in the course of Baartman’s chequered careeer: by turns plaintive, nostalgic, defiant, jaunty, angry and desolate, they run the gamut of the emotional scale.
As usual, Michael Mitchell has devised a set of elegant simplicity to enhance the performance, shifting with minimum fuss from South Africa to England to France as Baartman’s dismal history runs its course.
A remarkable achievement
Deft lighting by Mannie Manim, Celeste Botha’s stage-filling choreography, and sterling accompaniment elicited from musicians of the CTPO by Maestro Jeremy Silver, all deserve credit for their part in making this student production a remarkable achievement. All the more remarkable when one considers that for the last two years, traditional coaching/training of the young singers was impossible during the pandemic.
Members of the sizable, beautifully costumed chorus impressed in their début; soloists mustered the requisite authority with varying degrees of success. Among these the show stealers have to be Bongiwe Nakani (as the eponymous lead) and Lwazi Dlamini, as Dr Dunlop (the enterprising broker of her career as an ethnographic exhibit). Both have the advantage of experience beyond that of the average undergraduate, and they bring poise as well as proficiency and stage presence to their roles.
Acoustics in this venue are challenging for singers, as greater vocal projection is required to achieve audibility above orchestral accompaniment. Opening night had some of the soloists struggling in this regard, since they had no doubt rehearsed mainly with a keyboard répétiteur – a very different proposition.
Intellectual and emotional appeal
However, there is no shortage of memorable moments in this production: the sweetly engaging duet of Sara and her employer Anna (Bongiwe Nakani and Christine Bam) in the first act; Sara’s soulful aria on a Khoi air, about a broken string; and in the final scene, a gentle Nguni lullaby juxtaposed with boisterous celebration of Réveillon in Paris.
Few could fail to respond to the intellectual and emotional appeal of this opera, whether performed by fledgling vocalists or seasoned artists; its place in the growing repertoire of truly South African work is assured.
Congratulations to UCT’s Opera School are definitely in order.
What: Sara Baartman – the Opera
Where and when: Pam Golding Theatre at the Baxter Theatre Centre on 7, 9 and 10 September 2022
Tickets: Webtickets
WS
