Music school voices volatility of love
Nov 11, 2004
<b>Opera:</b> A night of love and betrayal<br><b>Performed by:</b> Kampala Music School (KMS) Senior Voice students and pianists<br><b>Reviewed by:</b> Mark Meynell<br>
A riddle: What do Mozart, George Gershwin and a bat have in common?
Answer: They were all featured on the National Theatre stage last week in Kampala Music School’s (KMS) Opera Gala.
Of course, opera fans would expect Mozart in such an event and Gershwin deserves his place because of his masterpiece, Porgy & Bess. But a bat! This year, Ulrike Wilson and her singing pupils, opted for a varied programme of edited highlights, drawn from 200 years of operatic history.
The climax was Johann Strauss’ comic opera Fledermaus or The bat, to which the evening’s entire second half was devoted. They say music transcends cultures and centuries.
Last Thursday certainly proved that true, as KMS singers threw themselves into their roles with both energy and often profound understanding, many of them have grown significantly and musically since their last stage appearance.
But the evening proved something else – that we all share the experience of life, regardless of our nationality or generation. For if all, the Gala’s items could be summed up with a single phrase, it might be “Love and betrayal.â€
This theme bound 18th century Europe (e.g Mozart’s Don Giovanni) to 1950s New York (Bernstein’s West Side Story) and all the items to 21st Century Kampala.
Who would ever suggest that the unpredictability of human love, the insecurities of the jilted lover and deviousness of the sexual predator are not relevant themes in modern Uganda?
Opera is simply an artistic vehicle that composers have used to express the feelings and perceptions of being human.
Last Thursday night had it all – joy and tragedy, exhilaration and despair. In other words, this was real life!
The wonderful thing about the KMS production was the singers’ emotional realism and sincerity. Wearing stunning African costumes (thus emphasising the music’s cross-cultural transcendence), the singers communicated with wit and poignancy.
Some moments were achingly funny – Francis Mutesasira, for example, is a natural comedian. Who will forget either his Papageno in Mozarts’ Magic Flute or his ‘ineffective’ Lawyer Blind in Fledermaus? Also worthy of mention was his beloved Papagena (played by Teddy Nantume).
Whether in that part or as the all-too recognisable maid in Fledermaus, Teddy relished the opportunity to flirt with the audience with nods and winks.
But the performance highlight was not this but her soaring singing: puree, musical and expressive.
She was not the only one, of course, Fred Kiggundu Musoke was a knowing Don Giovanni. Ben Katumba was a resonant, warm-hearted and mature Porgy (at only 19, surely he has a great singing future ahead – the next Willard White perhaps!?) Betty Nayiga has a beautiful, clear voice, which was joyfully on display throughout the evening; she was even joined on stage at points by her talented sister Cathy Nakanwagi (an excellent Count in Fledermaus).
Maria Mukomukambwe and Moses Mulira were well-cast and joyfully innocent as West Side Story’s doomed lovers. Ruth Makumbi’s voice was a revelation, filling the theatre with Gershwin’s Summertime and as Rosalinda in Fledermaus. Her final trio with the impressive Lawrence Sekalegga and Charles Dickens (also a powerful Tamino in the Magic flute) was stunning. Opera is also about soloists – it is a team effort and massive undertaking, from stage hands to the ever reliable and competent team of polished pianists, from narrator Mark Wilson to chorus members. It is a testimony to their combined efforts.
Ends
Answer: They were all featured on the National Theatre stage last week in Kampala Music School’s (KMS) Opera Gala.
Of course, opera fans would expect Mozart in such an event and Gershwin deserves his place because of his masterpiece, Porgy & Bess. But a bat! This year, Ulrike Wilson and her singing pupils, opted for a varied programme of edited highlights, drawn from 200 years of operatic history.
The climax was Johann Strauss’ comic opera Fledermaus or The bat, to which the evening’s entire second half was devoted. They say music transcends cultures and centuries.
Last Thursday certainly proved that true, as KMS singers threw themselves into their roles with both energy and often profound understanding, many of them have grown significantly and musically since their last stage appearance.
But the evening proved something else – that we all share the experience of life, regardless of our nationality or generation. For if all, the Gala’s items could be summed up with a single phrase, it might be “Love and betrayal.â€
This theme bound 18th century Europe (e.g Mozart’s Don Giovanni) to 1950s New York (Bernstein’s West Side Story) and all the items to 21st Century Kampala.
Who would ever suggest that the unpredictability of human love, the insecurities of the jilted lover and deviousness of the sexual predator are not relevant themes in modern Uganda?
Opera is simply an artistic vehicle that composers have used to express the feelings and perceptions of being human.
Last Thursday night had it all – joy and tragedy, exhilaration and despair. In other words, this was real life!
The wonderful thing about the KMS production was the singers’ emotional realism and sincerity. Wearing stunning African costumes (thus emphasising the music’s cross-cultural transcendence), the singers communicated with wit and poignancy.
Some moments were achingly funny – Francis Mutesasira, for example, is a natural comedian. Who will forget either his Papageno in Mozarts’ Magic Flute or his ‘ineffective’ Lawyer Blind in Fledermaus? Also worthy of mention was his beloved Papagena (played by Teddy Nantume).
Whether in that part or as the all-too recognisable maid in Fledermaus, Teddy relished the opportunity to flirt with the audience with nods and winks.
But the performance highlight was not this but her soaring singing: puree, musical and expressive.
She was not the only one, of course, Fred Kiggundu Musoke was a knowing Don Giovanni. Ben Katumba was a resonant, warm-hearted and mature Porgy (at only 19, surely he has a great singing future ahead – the next Willard White perhaps!?) Betty Nayiga has a beautiful, clear voice, which was joyfully on display throughout the evening; she was even joined on stage at points by her talented sister Cathy Nakanwagi (an excellent Count in Fledermaus).
Maria Mukomukambwe and Moses Mulira were well-cast and joyfully innocent as West Side Story’s doomed lovers. Ruth Makumbi’s voice was a revelation, filling the theatre with Gershwin’s Summertime and as Rosalinda in Fledermaus. Her final trio with the impressive Lawrence Sekalegga and Charles Dickens (also a powerful Tamino in the Magic flute) was stunning. Opera is also about soloists – it is a team effort and massive undertaking, from stage hands to the ever reliable and competent team of polished pianists, from narrator Mark Wilson to chorus members. It is a testimony to their combined efforts.
Ends