South African Choral Music (Amakwaya): Song, Contest and the ...

370 Western Repertoire
creation of opera: "In our folk-tales, for instance, our characters do say their lines in song".108 Here
Khumalo touches on the fact that the tradition of story telling (izinganekwane) and praise poetry
(izibongo), both of which include acting and singing, have certainly facilitated the move towards operatic
performance. Numerous sources report on attempts by Africans to unite different modes of
artistic expression in a single composition. A dramatic work with music about the life of a sangoma
(diviner) was presented by R. T. Caluza as part of a tour by his choir in 1920_21,109 and Coplan
mentions that Esau Mtetwa, a teacher at Amanzimtoti Institute in the 1920s, presented various musical
shows with his student company, the Lucky Stars: "Entirely in Zulu, their colourful and carefully
rehearsed displays of folk culture proved as popular with white audiences as with black. Rather
than imitate European drama or narrative themes, they emphasised traditional social values and
cultural patterns. Scripts were generally discarded in favour of a series of standard scenes always
renewed and enlivened by spontaneous improvisation in theatrics, dance, dialogue, poetry, and
song... Musical instruments included traditional strung bows in addition to the guitar and concertina".110
H. 1. E. Dhlomo's plays are also of interest. In Chaka and in his musical drama, Moshoeshoe, produced
in 1939 in collaboration with R. T. Caluza and the choreographer, A. P. Khutlang, Dhlomo
intended to preserve traditional African themes and performance techniques by incorporating them
in European dramatic forms.
According to Ludumo Magangane, it is the style of opera, "the Italian style, which is very emotional",
that attracts black choirs. He sees a similarity in Italian and African vocal expression, where
"you put all your feeling into the whole thing. 111 Therefore it gives you this scoop... and the full
range of the voice. Unlike especially English singing where you have to be very controlled".112 Edward
Mngadi, an official at the South African Choral Music Association (SACMA), argues that opera
is indeed closely related to African forms of expression: ''You see, it's easy for us to do the ex­
pressions with these opera songs, because it's nearly African way of singing where you have to
move and show motions
.
an
d
un
d
erstan
din
g.
,,113
The social motivation for the growing popularity of opera was pointed out to me by Thokozani
Ndlovu, a Durban-based singer who works at the SABC:
Opera was always a white thing, something we were not able to do. We had no opera stages, no opera
festivals. The only place where you could go to see opera was the Playhouse [in Durban]. It was always a
very elitist white thing. Today, many choirs have started choosing opera as choice pieces - that tells you
something. 114
Ndlovu's remark suggests that the cultivation of opera is yet another sign of the black middle
class's aspiring to European culture, of their striving for economic emancipation and for equal political
status as citizens of South Africa. A similar view was expressed to me by Edward Mngadi:
...we realised that our choirs, especially African choirs, are not good in opera because [previously] opera
has been something for white choirs and the orchestra. So our choirs in the past were not exposed to or­
chestras, were not exposed to singing in the concert halls, things like that. So now it's still something new
108 Interview with Mzilikazi Khumalo on the day of the premiere, Durban, Playhouse, May, 4, 2002.
109 For Caluza's tour, see Ilanga Lase Natal (December 31,1920).
110 D. Coplan, 1985: 125.
111 Personal communication with Ludumo Magangane,]ohannesburg, SAMRO,]uly 18, 2000.
112 Ibid.
113 Personal communication with Edward Mngadi, Durban, November 16, 1999.
114 Personal communication with Thokozani Ndlovu, Durban, ICC,]une 21, 2002.