THE RUNAWAY GRANNY OPENED DOORS FOR WOMEN
By
Margaretta wa Gacheru
Long before
she began singing opera professionally, Rhoda Ondeng Wilhelmsen had dreamed of
creating her own indigenous Kenyan opera and placing her notorious grandmother
Nyanga at the centre of her storyline.
According to
her ‘Personal Reflection [on] “Nyanga: Runaway Grandmother’, Rhoda first got
the idea for her opera as a little girl. She used to love sitting in her
granny’s small grass-thatched hut in the hilly village of Nyahera (Kisumu) and
listen to Nyanga’s awe-inspiring story of how she ran away from local village
life to join the missionaries and a radically different style of life.
Nyanga, the
granny, was also a charismatic singer and storyteller who, despite her
declining years, inspired Rhoda to develop similar skills. Included among them
was the incentive to create Kenya’s first fully-staged indigenous opera, which
is the production that had its world premiere this past weekend at Kenya
National Theatre.
Technically,
Nyanga is not the very first Kenya opera. That honor goes to ‘Ondieki the
Fisherman’ which was composed by Francis Chandler, Rhoda’s high school English
teacher. Chandler is the same composer who, at age 83 and at Rhoda’s request,
took her granny’s story and composed the music and the libretto (lyrics) for
Nyanga: Runaway Grandmother.
But that was
just the beginning. Nearly half a century has passed since Rhoda was first
inspired by her grandmother’s courage, daring, and radical willingness to open
her heart and mind to a whole new way of thinking and living.
Much has
gone into creating a production that has involved nearly 40 singers, a 40-member
orchestra, a team of dancers, troupe of ten Kibera school children, and guest
performers who have come from Norway, Germany, Uganda, US and UK.
Rhoda
actually directed the first iteration of the show late in 2020. But even
between then and the premiere night last week, the opera morphed into a
full-scaled extravaganza, complete with exquisite voices, costuming, sound,
sets, and lighting.
Rhoda, while
remaining the show’s Executive Director and CEO of Baraka Opera Trust, handed
over the artistic director’s baton to Dr. Julisa Rowe. The former Daystar University
drama teacher, who had previously directed scores of productions, handled this
monumental musical and theatrical event with deft determination and grace.
Rowe was
assisted by the likes of Mike James, the former Starehe Boys music teacher, who
served not only as the show’s executive producer but also as the musician who
adapted and re-arranged Chandler’s orchestration to fit more effectively into
the Kenyan context. At the same time, Ciru James served as the opera’s vocal
coach, while Levy Wataka conducted an orchestra that featured everyone from the
Nairobi String Quartet and first violinist David Ralek to a range of overseas
guest musicians who had flown in just to be part of Rhoda’s opera. Meanwhile, the
indigenous instrumentalists served as a counter-balance with their nyatiti,
oruto, litunga, and ohangla drums.
One of the
features of Nyanga that was also beautifully balanced was the contrast between
pre-colonial Kenyan life with its cohesive village culture and the arrival of
Western missionaries with their Bible and promise of everlasting life.
It was that
promise of life eternal and conquest over death through Jesus Christ that
convinced Nyanga (Lyndie Shinyega) apparently to ‘run away’ from home and join
the Christians. There was also her attraction to the young Kenyan missionary
Joel (Caleb Wachira) that made her flight even more understandable. But it was
probably a combination of factors that impelled Rhoda’s granny to take that
great leap of faith away from the past into an unknown future.
Either way,
Nyanga is Rhoda’s tribute to and commemoration of the grandmother she describes
as ‘runaway’ but who after the intermission and Act 2, went back to her dad
(Anthony Mwangi), the village’s wise medicine man, to ask for his blessing. She
wants to marry Joel as well as become a Christian, so it’s a big ask for her
dad.
Ultimately,
he gives his blessing to both Nyanga and Joel, but there is little doubt
there’s ambivalence. Otherwise, there would have been many more young men and
women who would have followed Nyanga right there and then.
Nyanga’s
return and reconciliation didn’t come instantaneously. But for Rhoda, the
fateful decision her granny made is the central reason why she and many other
women and girls from her place have also gone to school and followed in
Nyanga’s wake.
[In light of
the issues currently being faced by Afghan women and girls who are losing
opportunities to go to school due to Taliban misogyny, one may be even more
appreciative of Nyanga’s radicalism and Rhoda’s applauding it via her world
premiering Opera.]
No comments:
Post a Comment