Blue Raga

A multi-voiced story

Paramaribo, early 18th century. The Dutch rule in Suriname is faltering. The city’s enslaved people are rising against their oppressors. Forced labourers in the Netherlands also threaten to rebel. Meanwhile, a French privateer is laying siege to the city from the sea. Amid all the turmoil, the Dutch governor is particularly possessed by stories of a golden city in southern Suriname. The golden tear (la larme d’or) of a mythical prince appears to be proof of this. This opera tells the story of how Europeans, Africans, and indigenous people in Suriname cross paths. 

Uniting cultures

Majoie Hajary was born in Paramaribo in 1921 as the daughter of a Hindustani father and a Afro-Surinamese-Chinese mother. She worked as a concert pianist after studying at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and lessons with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, among others. In her own compositions, she united Western classical techniques with Afro-Caribbean and Indian music. Despite the fact that she had lived outside of Suriname since her childhood and acquired French nationality, she cherished her ties to her homeland. She wrote multicoloured compositions to unite the country’s varied demographic groups with her Sranantongo oratorio Da Pinawiki (‘The Passion Week’) and La larme d’or.