Review: Ubuntu – The Opera; Playhouse Opera Theatre, Durban

 AN opera which celebrates the life and achievements of former President, Nelson Mandela, is not a new concept.

I was privileged to see Mandela Trilogy, Cape Town Opera’s musical tribute to Madiba’s extraordinary life when the production toured to the Playhouse a few years ago. And then there was the ill-fated Madiba: The African Opera, which was forced to close after three days at the State Theatre in Pretoria when it ran out of money to pay performers.

Ubuntu – The Opera, featuring a libretto and music composed by Juan Burgers, provides another look at the iconic statesman’s life, but this time also shines a spotlight on his relationship with Winnie Mandela and how their participation in the liberation struggle impacted that relationship.

It begins, however, in an almost other worldly fashion with the appearance of Ubuntu (portrayed tenor, Siphiwe Mkhatshwa, with grace and strong vocals), a kind of narrator who remains on stage throughout the show, and Gaia, goddess mother earth, played by the excellent soprano, Charlotte Mhlongo.

But the action soon shifts and the audience is taken to Mandela’s home village, Mvezo in the Eastern Cape, where the inhabitants are celebrating his birth. Projected onto massive white screens are images of this peaceful spot.

Fast forward a couple of decades and we find ourselves in Kliptown, Johannesburg, where people are protesting against the repressive apartheid museum.

Mandela (baritone, Njabulo Mthimkhulu) is deeply involved in the struggle when he meets Winnie Madikizela (soprano, Khumbuzile Dlamini) and the pair fall in love.  The intimacy of this moment on stage is in marked contrast to the remainder of act one, during which their marriage is overshadowed by protests against the pass laws, during which Inkosi Albert Luthuli (bass baritone, Thamsanqa Khaba) burns his pass book in protest and 20 000 women march to the Union Buildings in August 1956. Winnie is among those arrested and almost loses her first child while in prison.

The couple then have to endure a drawn out trial which followed Mandela and Luthuli’s arrest in 1956. After more than three years Mandela and others are freed and he goes underground.

Luthuli, meanwhile, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and delivers a stirring speech in Oslo, Norway. It is one of opera’s highlights for me and Khaba delivers both vocally and in his portrayal of this dignified man.

Act one ends with the Rivonia treason trial, in which Burgers uses elements of Mandela’s speech in court. Mthimkhulu’s deep baritone and his tall figure ensure that this iconic moment is beautifully portrayed. The scene also features excellent performances from bass baritone, Richard Salmon, as Judge De Wet and tenor, Cobus Venter, as prosecutor, Percy Juta.

Act two opens with prisoners on Robben Island breaking rocks in a quarry as Mandela and other leaders in the ANC, including Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki,  try and keep their spirits up. This monotonous drudgery is in sharp contrast the terror and torment being inflicted on Winnie and her daughters.

Dlamini delivers a powerful vocal and dramatic performance as she portrays Winnie’s pain at being ripped away from her children and then placed in solitary confinement for almost 500 days, during which she is tormented and insulted by men determined to break her spirit. Bass baritone, Raimondo van Staden, is superb as the sadistic Major Coetzee in this scene.

The second act also features the 1976 Soweto uprising which led to the death of Hector Petersen, Winnie’s banishment to Brandfort in the Free State and her support for the growing violence in the country.

And while she stands by her husband’s side on his release from Victor Verster Prison in February 1990, those in the audience soon see that she will not remain there; and as Mandela celebrates his inauguration she is simply a face amongst the crowd.

Burgers’ creation draws on Africa’s rich tradition of singing and music to provide a magnificent showcase of some of the country’s finest operatic talent, richly supported by the musicians of the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, under the baton of Lykele Temmingh.

And through the audio visual magic of Karen Logan and Mandy Hoidge, the simple set created by stage director, David Krugel – who also provides the costumes, lighting design and choreography – is transformed. The backdrop changes seamlessly from an Eastern Cape village to a courtroom, jail cell and the Union Buildings.

Ubuntu – The Opera is an impressive production and once which should be seen by as many people as possible. – Estelle Sinkins

NEED TO KNOW

Ubuntu – The Opera can be seen in the Playhouse Opera Theatre until  November 22. Please note that tenors, Thamsanqa Mqaba and Simphiwe Mkhatshwa alternate in the role of Ubuntu, while baritones, Monde Masimini and Njabulo Mthimkhulu, share the role of Nelson Mandela and sopranos, Khumbuzile Dlamini and Nomsa Mpofu, alternate the role of Winnie Mandela, and baritones, Musa Ndadane and Tamsanqa Khaba, share the role of Albert Luthuli. Tickets from R50 are available through Computicket and at Shoprite and Checkers stores.