17 February 1934: King Albert climbs the Rocher du Bon Dieu in Marche-les-Dames and falls to his death. Whereas a reported two million Belgians witness the funeral procession, Queen Elisabeth, because of protocol, is not even allowed to attend the funeral of her own husband.
This event stands for the sorrow of thousands who cannot mourn as they wish.
The Grief of Red Granny is the first part of a two-part AfrOpera on individual and collective grief. Here, we embark on an emotional journey through the heart of a woman, loosely inspired by Queen Elisabeth and Gorges' grandmother (two Red Grannies) and portrayed by actress Tine Joustra. She welcomes us in the ruins of her memories and takes us along on the waves of her overwhelming grief.
In this ritualized AfrOpera, Görges Ocloo gives a place and a voice to those who do not have an opportunity to say goodbye to their loved ones in person: the parents of missing children, the victims of wars, pandemics, terrorist attacks….
With his characteristic surreal imagery, Ocloo presents this enigmatic mourning process in
the Garden of Eden. Six angels – three classical singers and three instrumentalists, all from South Africa – form the ensemble. The musical leitmotif is Stabat Mater by Pergolesi. “I will bring Pergolesi to my Voodoo church”, says Ocloo. His radical arrangement of this famous composition draws inspiration from extravagant mourning and burial rituals from around the world. A universal sound of sorrow and celebration.
"An excellent Tine Joustra delivers a monologue on love and loving, on pain, sorrow and letting go – effortlessly switching between four languages."
"With this opera, Gorges Ocloo takes a new step in his search (which hopefully never ends) for points of common interest between African and European cultures. The ‘Stabat Mater’ by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi serves as the underpinning of this lament that is simultaneously an accolade to both the dead and the living. Ocloo takes full liberty with this score. He makes it his own, and from that confrontation a remarkable beauty emerges."
"The musical cross-fertilizations result in an opera full of surprising twists and turns, and with the kind of exuberant energy that is customary in African church communities."
"The voices of the male and female singers sound very beautiful and pure. Their harmonizing makes this Pergolesi very special. It has a primal force, a pathos of its own, spiritual and sacral."
"Love needs very few words, death even less. The grieving widow (superb role by actress Tine Joustra) is constantly attended by six African angels, who perform the 12 parts of the ‘Stabat Mater’. The instrumentation is daring: drums, cello and guitar, with soprano, mezzo-soprano and bass as vocalists."
"For a year and a half, Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’ has been on repeat. On my phone. At home. I listened to song after song for hours at a time. ‘What do I feel?’ I kept asking myself. Then I sat down at my instruments and rewrote his score for six South African musicians. In Europe we are born bicycling, in South Africa they are born singing. What they can do with their voice is amazing."
concept, text, direction, composition, scenography
- Gorges Ocloo
actress
- Tine Joustra
soprano
- Nobulumko Mngxekeza-Nziramasanga
mezzo-soprano
- Nonkululeko Nkwinti
basso profondo
- Ntuthuko Ziqubu
guitars
- Charlton Daniels
cello
- Dane Coetzee
drums/percussion
- Carla Williams
dramaturgy
- Jana Beckmann
- Josse De Pauw
sound design
- Victor Hidalgo
light design
- Lies Van Loock
- Gorges Ocloo
costume design
- Tanya Maldonado
- Esther Reijnen
set design
- Senne Suls
- Noah Dockx
- Chris Reijnen
- Niels Antonissen
- Patrick Jacobs
production
- Toneelhuis
- LOD muziektheater
in collaboration with
- Artscape Theatre Centre Cape Town
with the support of
- de Tax Shelter maatregel v/d Belgische federale overheid via Gallop Tax Shelter
- de Diplomatieke Representatie van Vlaanderen in Zuid-Afrika
- Sabam for Culture
