Composer Neo Muyanga on How Anansi freed the stories of the world
Joy, group singing and a changing world
How do you bring a centuries-old African tale to life on a modern-day opera stage, to appeal to audiences of all ages? The South African composer, musician and philosopher Neo Muyanga showed how in 2021 with How Anansi freed the stories of the world, a spectacular musical adventure that gives new meaning to ancient stories.
Muyanga is currently working in Johannesburg as the curator of a festival centred on the theme of ‘the global city in the southern hemisphere’. As part of that, he is exploring the challenges facing large cities in these times of migration, uprooting, war and artificial intelligence. The key question he is grappling with is how to find a new way of understanding our cities.
He was already fascinated by this topic when he was working on Anansi: “Climate change and the decline in biodiversity show how fragile the world we live in is, even in the cities. In the opera, the spider Anansi enters a very urban landscape, Tigri’s palace, where the stories of the world are kept. Anansi and his entourage come from the jungle, an exotic domain — a dark, immense space with its own customs, stories, experiences and characters, which Anansi smuggles into the palace. I conveyed this in my music by mixing folk and street music with classical elements and instruments. In the opera, I initiate a dialogue between the classical music practices of an orchestra and a much more improvisational approach to music, with a DJ playing a prominent role. This process of cross-fertilisation and confrontation resulted in a rich, dynamic musical language.”
Constant motion
Muyanga points to the complex history of colonialism and the spread of African stories across the world. “Everything is constantly in motion in our modern, globalised world. The story of Anansi takes on a different form and is interpreted differently in the Netherlands than in the Caribbean, or in Ghana, where the tale originated. That fascinates me as an African. What happened to this African story as it travelled the world under the most horrific circumstances? First to the Americas and then to the Netherlands. And what can that reveal about what is changing in the Netherlands in the here and now? That makes the story a reflection as well on four hundred years of colonialism and industrialisation, which went hand in hand. We draw an arc from the interior of Africa via South America to the Netherlands.”
“In this opera, we also want to show how stories are transmitted,” continues Muyanga. “Princess Vixen is the keeper of the old stories and past experiences that have become forgotten. To protect them, she lives far away from the palace of Tigri, the descendant of the men who once violently transported her and her forebears across the Atlantic Ocean. Now the time has come to step out into the open and pass on her legacy. Theatre and the real world are inextricably linked in a duet uniting the amazing and experienced Claron McFadden (Princess Vixen) with Katia Ledoux (Makumba), who is at the start of her career. Princess Vixen reminds us not only of what remains of those stories but also of what has been lost and what needs to be reformulated. I find that intergenerational aspect of how things are handed down really important, both in the theatre and in real life.”
South Africa
Muyanga grew up in South Africa during the apartheid regime. He learned Afrikaans, a language closely related to Dutch. “When I was growing up, there were protests against the use of Afrikaans in education. That started in Soweto, with people setting fire to schools, libraries and shops. This was followed by a decade with a lot of unrest and a permanent state of siege. Even going to school or going outside was risky. But the resistance served a greater purpose: it was liberation before education. I was lucky in that I was able to continue with my studies, but many of my peers were never able to escape the cycle of poverty. That’s where I’m coming from, they are part of me.” His ability to speak Afrikaans gives him what he calls “a kind of superpower” in the Netherlands. “I find it pretty easy to read Dutch but understanding you guys speaking is much harder. The way you pronounce the start and end of words is almost incomprehensible to my ears.”
That is not so much of a problem for Muyanga’s ability to understand the Anansi libretto. “The libretto is written in Smibanese, the language of the streets in the Bijlmer district. It is the language of the hood. To me as a South African, this broken language sounds much more familiar than official standard Dutch. The librettist Maarten van Hinte introduced me to the Bijlmer community. I encountered Surinamese music and ate Surinamese food. Afterwards, I often took the metro to the Bijlmer district to immerse myself in its traditions. I have used a lot of Surinamese rhythms in the music of Anansi. The apinti drum that the percussionist Carlo Hoop plays at the start of the performance is originally from West Africa, but the version he plays is from Suriname. The drum underwent a transformation in that country, in those surroundings and in that community.”
Group singing
In Anansi, Muyanga also drew on the music of his childhood, where group singing was a prominent aspect. “Singing along together was a key element of the Black resistance. Group singing was a way of making yourself heard and demanding change. When you sing together, you need to listen to the others in order to jointly achieve consonance, a pleasing composite sound. That doesn’t mean there is no room for dissonance in the music. It is precisely that transition from consonance to dissonance and back that gives our lives meaning — and indeed it’s an essential element when composing.”
“Once an individual soloist has made a point, they are absorbed into the group again. Building a community means that sometimes one person has to step forward and speak out, but that person also then has to return to the larger political body that is the community.”
Change
The artistic team created this opera five years ago, at a time when there was hope of change. The pandemic reminded many people the importance of solidarity and looking out for others. There was also a surge in support for the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd; however horrific the reason, this too seemed a sign that change was coming. Now, however, everything seems to be moving in the opposite direction. Authoritarian views are gaining ground everywhere and it feels as if the Tigris of this world are in charge. Muyanga: “We are undoubtedly facing challenges at the moment. That makes it all the more important for us to keep sharing our stories and experiences, and not withdraw into our respective bubbles. We deliberately sought to make Tigri a relatable human rather than the incarnation of pure evil.”
“Our aim is to bring joy, to let new voices be heard and different bodies take the stage. Joy is an essential element of life in Africa and the Black diaspora. Whether times are good or bad, sharing that joy – sharing a meal, camaraderie, or joining together in dance and movement – is an integral part of our existence.”
Dutch text: Karim Ameur
How Anansi Freed the Stories of the World will run from 16 to 25 May at Dutch National Opera & Ballet.