Opera is African: Oríkì, Narrativity, and the Politics of Power in Yorùbá Opera

Abstract

Opera is African: Oríkì, Narrativity, and the Politics of Power in Yorùbá Opera

Introduction: Oríkì as an Operatic Device

Opera is African and the politics of power has shaped its poetics in Nigeria since ancient times. Focusing on the Yoruba people of western Nigeria, this paper examines how institutional power dynamics have shaped the history and practice of opera since the pre-colonial era. In addition to discussing indigenous precolonial practices and their extension in new forms, I examine how Nigerian opera composers have engaged with the issue of power in their work.  The operas that I discuss are Hubert Ogunde’s Yoruba Ronu, Akin Euba’s Chaka, and Bode Omojola's most recent opera, Funmilayo, all of which explore the dynamics of power in two ways: as a focus of plot and libretto and in terms of how they resist, or rework Western operatic forms associated with the “colonial matrix of power.”  My discussion tackles these issues historically and analytically. I examine the precolonial roots of opera in Western Nigeria, the impact of European musical and theatrical practices, and analyze the types of choices and decisions that inform the works of 20^th-century Yoruba operatic composers. My conclusion reflects on the significance of these works in terms of the anti-colonial or decolonial strategies they propose.