Decolonising the Hypermasculine Hero: Nkoli, The Vogue Opera

Abstract

This article is based on author interviews with the creators and production team of the 2023 South African production Nkoli:The Vogue Opera. Drawing primarily but not exclusively from conversations with composer Philip Miller and co-librettist Sibonakaliso Nene (rapper, S'Bo Gyre), the article sets Nkoli within the context of a brief, selective historical account of other South African opera initiatives challenging, in various ways, the imported conventions of grand opera. It discusses the choice of the 'vogue opera' form, and through its creators' reflections, how they define its decolonising features: an activist intention; a collective process of creation; a non-conventional staging; the use of diverse musical sources; and, most importantly, the subversion of both gender and heroic character binaries.