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In a luxurious theatre, being serenaded by cultured vocalists hitting high notes with the easy of a passing day while feasting on a three course meal that could match any king’s feast, is how some Gauteng residents commemorated their Freedom Day.
Despite the fact that Bloemfontein played host to the main Freedom day festivities on Friday, those not fortunate enough to be part of those festivities had nothing to fear.
The Venue, in Melrose Arch, Sandton, catered for Gauteng residents feeling a bit left out as Opera Rocks held an opera recital titled La Boheme.
The four part opera act initially composed by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa was on the night adapted by six exceptional vocalists to enact contemporary issues plaguing the now democratic South Africa.
The musicians enacted the blesser and blesse phenomenon and the complications surrounding the subject, particularly sicknesses that may come as a result of such relationships.
This introduced the tuberculosis scourge which formed part of the performers’ story-line. The opera’s libretto focused on the relationship between Rodolfo and Mimì, which ends with Mimi’s death due to tuberculosis.
“The performances tackled relevant topics in today’s society and overall it has been an excellent evening of witnessing talent that may be appreciated anywhere in the world,” said former South African ambassador to Gabon Nomvume Magaqa.
Organiser Thami Mtshali explained that, “singing has always been a part of black culture, we grow up singing at every occasion but during apartheid there were obviously limitations to where and how we sang. Now (after getting freedom) we can continue singing.
"When we ask people to come and support us we are not asking them to do us any favours, we ask because we are talented and want to demonstrate this,” he said.
To the uneducated ear, the assumption was that the higher the notes, the more talented the performers were.
As the show proceeded, it became clear that this form of evaluation as a means of gauging the performers’ aptitude was flawed.
The performers were hitting high notes willy-nilly leading to a need for a different form of gauging this all black cast’s standard of opera singing.
A more inclusive means of measuring the performers’ ability came in the form of looking at the response garnered by the performers from the attendees.
This means of measurement was based on the assumption that those in attendance’s knowledge of opera was far superior to mine.
If their standing ovations after every performance and constant screams and ululations were anything to go by, then the future of black opera is in safe hands with the steady talent being uncovered by Opera Rocks.
Magaqa who was also impressed by the performances said after the show, “I am sitting here trying to entice contacts I have made in my time as an ambassador to buy into this initiative and wish that they could invite them for performances elsewhere.”
Opera Rocks founder Mtshali, who also holds a master’s degree from the University of Tuskegee Alabama, the same university where hall of fame Grammy and Oscar winner Lionel Richie began a long and successful career, explained that in hosting such events, he sought to unearth talented black singers and give them a platform to express their gifts.
“Tomorrow, Opera Rocks will be hosting auditions to uncover more new talent at the same venue from 10am to 4pm,” said Mtshali, who was quick to point out that two of the six performers who had performed on Friday had also auditioned a mere two months ago and were now headlining the Freedom Day event.
Other upcoming Opera Rocks performances will be on:
