The Centre for the Less Good Idea is an interdisciplinary incubator space for the arts based in Maboneng, Johannesburg

 THE MASKANDALIFICATION OF OPERA | EIGHT SHORT-FORM, EXPERIMENTAL OPERAS

Eight new miniature operas by South African composers have been created. These composers presented their scores and concepts to an ensemble of musicians, singers and dramaturges, who brought the dramatic musical stories to life over the course of this three-day mini festival. Watch them all below.

EURIDICE

Euridice is a feminist retelling of the story of Euridice, which views her as not just the late wife of the musician, Orfeo, but as a woman who relishes in the independence and solitude she finds in the Underworld. 

CREDITS

LIBRETTIST | Ingrid De Kok
VISUAL ARTIST | William Kentridge
MUSICIANS | Mapule Moloi, Nokuthula Magubane, Vhahangwele Moopo, Thokozani Dubazane, Sizwe Nkosi, Bongile Lecoge-Zulu, Larissa Johnson, Kabelo Motlhomi, Justin Sasman, Micca Manganye, Waldo Alexander, Tiisetso Mashishi, Phumelelo Ndlovu & Daliwonga Tshangela
VIDEO EDITOR | Žana Marović 
DRAMATURG | Kabi Thulo
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Smangaliso Ngwenya & Thuli Binda

DANKIE BHOZA

Dankie Bhoza looks at the reality of being a Pantsula, with a focus on how amaPantsula survive as cultural activists and entertainment entrepreneurs alike, through their ‘many offices’ of self-employment.

CREDITS

COMPOSER | Vusi Mdoyi
MUSICIANS | Mapule Moloi, Nokuthula Magubane, Vhahangwele Moopo, Thokozani Dubazane, Sizwe Nkosi, Mandisa Yende, Lufezo Bovungana, Kabelo Motlhomi, Justin Sasman, Bongile Lecoge-Zulu, Larissa Johnson, Micca Manganye, Phumelelo Ndlovu, Waldo Alexander, Tiisetso Mashishi, Daliwonga Tshangela & Vusi Mdoyi
MUSICAL ARRANGERS | Mandisa Yende & Kabelo Motlhomi
DRAMATURG | Aalliyah Matintela
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Smangaliso Ngwenya & Thuli Binda

DILIKA

A tale of love across language, distance, and culture, as a young man from France meets a young woman from South Africa, in the vibrant streets of Johannesburg. 

CREDITS

COMPOSER | Nosipho Qhayiso
MUSICIANS | Mapule Moloi, Vhahangwele Moopo, Nokuthula Magubane, Thokozani Dubazane, Sizwe Nkosi, Bongile Lecoge-Zulu, Larissa Johnson, Kabelo Motlhomi, Justin Sasman, Micca Manganye, Waldo Alexander, Tiisetso Mashishi, Phumelelo Ndlovu & Daliwonga Tshangela
MUSICAL ARRANGER & DIRECTOR | Kabelo Motlhomi
DRAMATURG | Kabi Thulo
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Smangaliso Ngwenya & Thuli Binda

EXCESS (BEAUTY)

A lesbian couple, who are priests in the Anglican Church, live in a shadowed commitment. With one decision by the Church, their lives splinter.
CREDITS

COMPOSER | Danielle Bowler
MUSICIANS | Mapule Moloi, Vhahangwele Moopo, Nokuthula Magubane, Thokozani Dubazane, Sizwe Nkosi, Mandisa Yende, Lufezo Bovungana, Larissa Johnson, Kabelo Motlhomi, Justin Sasman, Waldo Alexander, Tiisetso Mashishi, Phumelelo Ndlovu, Daliwonga Tshangela & Micca Manganye
MUSICAL DIRECTOR | Danielle Bowler
MUSICAL ARRANGERS I Waldo Alexander, Justin Sasman, Kabelo Motlhomi & Lufezo Bovungana
DRAMATURG | Kabi Thulo
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Smangaliso Ngwenya & Thuli Binda

TURN SKIES BACK

Turn Skies Back draws on Benjamin Britten’s 1945 opera Peter Grimes, but is set in turn-of-the-century Eswatini, as white settlers from Europe, Britain and Ireland in particular, begin to move in.

CREDITS

COMPOSER | Cara Stacey
MUSICIANS | Mapule Moloi, Vhahangwele Moopo, Nokuthula Magubane, Thokozani Dubazane,  Sizwe Nkosi, Bongile Lecoge-Zulu, Larissa Johnson, Kabelo Motlhomi, Justin Sasman, Micca Manganye, Waldo Alexander, Tiisetso Mashishi, Phumelelo Ndlovu & Daliwonga Tshangela 
MUSICAL DIRECTOR | Cara Stacey
DRAMATURGS | Aalliyah Zama Matintela & Kabi Thulo
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Smangaliso Ngwenya & Thuli Binda

UBUTHONGO

UbuThongo follows a young protagonist, Lizwi, who is being called upon by her ancestor, Nomnganga, to claim her place as becoming the voice, and the healer of her community. 

CREDITS

COMPOSERS & MUSICIANS | MandiFeze (Mandisa Yende & Lufezo Bovungana)
MUSICIANS | Mapule Moloi, Vhahangwele Moopo, Nokuthula Magubane, Thokozani Dubazane, Sizwe Nkosi, Waldo Alexander, Justin Sasman, Micca Manganye, Phumelelo Ndlovu, Daliwonga Tshangela, Vusi Mdoyi & Bongile Lecoge-Zulu
MUSICAL DIRECTORS | MandiFeze
MUSICAL ARRANGER I Waldo Alexander
DRAMATURG | Aalliyah Zama Matintela
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Smangaliso Ngwenya & Thuli Binda

VENUS IN FOUR ACTS

Venus in Four Acts explores notions and representations of the body in opera, Black feminisms, institutional critique, and the ethics of looking, anchored in an imagining of the many lives of Saartjie Baartman. 

CREDITS

CONCEPTUALISERS | Ann Masina, Lebogang Mashile & Tiffany E. BarberPERFORMERS & MUSICIANS | Ann Masina, Lebogang Mashile, Bongile Lecoge-Zulu, Mapule Moloi, Vhahangwele Moopo, Nokuthula Magubane, Larissa Johnson, Waldo Alexander, Micca Manganye & Phumelelo Ndlovu
MUSICAL ARRANGERS | Larissa Johnson & Bongile Lecoge-Zulu
LIBRETTIST | Lebogang Mashile
DRAMATURG | Aalliyah Zama Matintela 
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Tiffany E. Barber, Smangaliso Ngwenya & Thuli Binda

INHLAMBULUKO 

Inhlambuluko explores the intersection of African spiritualities and Catholicism as it’s been claimed and reimagined in the context of Southern Africa. 

CREDITS

COMPOSERS & MUSICIANS | Pertunia Msani & Neo Muyanga  
LIBRETTIST | Pertunia Msani
DRAMATURG | Aalliyah Zama Matintela
CHOREOGRAPHERS | Smangaliso Ngwenya & Thuli Binda

— David Mann