Namibia's first opera
Eslon Hindundu has had a dream since he was a child: to write, conduct and perform Namibia's first ever opera. “Chief Hijangua” had its premiere in Namibia in 2022 . The story addresses the country's colonial past.
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00:00 [Music]
00:08 More than 20 years ago, Eslon Hindundu dreamed of conducting the first Namibian opera.
00:14 [Music]
00:16 I had that vision or that dream of one day standing in front of a big orchestra with a big choir doing this huge beautiful music.
00:26 [Music]
00:27 Now 27-year-old Eslon has done it. He's conducting the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, performing his first composition, "Chief Hiangwa."
00:38 [Music]
00:39 I did perform my first opera, you know. My music had been performed and so for me it was, it's really overwhelming.
00:47 [Music]
00:49 Only a couple of decades ago, elaborate classical performances were unthinkable in his home country.
00:55 The country only got its independence in 1990 and there were quite a lot of restrictions.
01:01 And I think that contributed a lot in not having a Namibian opera at all.
01:07 [Music]
01:08 The opera tells of Namibia's culture and history in the 19th century and its relationship with the former colonial power, Germany.
01:17 [Music]
01:21 We don't really know our culture, where we come from, our traditions. We don't really know about it.
01:27 So I wanted to write something that would trigger the Namibians to go and find out about that.
01:33 Eslon Hindundu started the joint Namibian-German project with German director Kim Miramaya in 2019.
01:40 They assembled a team of 80 people consisting of choir, orchestra and creatives with one lofty aim.
01:47 Creating this world of Chifiangua together and to make it really Namibian-German, German-Namibian.
01:54 But in other days also being able to tell the story that foregoes a colour.
02:02 Chifiangua is sung in two languages, German and Ojiherero, one of the 25 African languages spoken in Namibia.
02:12 [Music]
02:14 Soloist Janis Von Roy is enthralled by this work.
02:18 [Music]
02:23 South African baritone Sakhiwe Mukosana plays Chifiangua, the opera's protagonist.
02:30 When people ask about the first Namibian opera, they'll be like, "OK, Sakhiwe was part of this big project."
02:39 Eslon Hindundu was born and raised in Windhoek, Namibia.
02:44 He studied singing at the College of the Arts Namibia and music at the Odeon School of Music in South Africa.
02:51 In 2015, he began composing choral music.
02:55 He was himself a soloist in Namibia's successful Kota Youth Choir.
02:59 While touring, he discovered his love of opera.
03:02 [Music]
03:06 We went to America, and during that time we were chosen to either go to a mall or an opera house, and I chose an opera house.
03:14 And since then, seeing how the singers were singing, seeing how, you know, I decided that I would love to continue doing this.
03:22 Eslon Hindundu's work also addresses the crimes of the German Empire in Namibia during the colonial period,
03:31 a fact still rarely discussed in Germany.
03:34 [Music]
03:37 I've realized that these stories of the colonial is also very important because a lot of us do not want to confront the past.
03:44 But I think that it's very important that we really confront the past in order for us to move forward, just like this project that is happening now.
03:52 [Music]
03:56 With Namibian-German cultural cooperation, Eslon Hindundu has created a courageous work.
04:02 [Applause]
04:18 (applause)