Hilde Roos
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520299887
- eISBN:
- 9780520971516
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520299887.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
Opera, race, and politics during apartheid South Africa form the foundation of this historiographic work on the Eoan Group, a so-called colored cultural organization that performed opera in the Cape. ...
More
Opera, race, and politics during apartheid South Africa form the foundation of this historiographic work on the Eoan Group, a so-called colored cultural organization that performed opera in the Cape. The La Traviata Affair: Opera in the Time of Apartheid charts Eoan’s opera activities from its inception in 1933 until the cessation of its work by 1980. By accepting funding from the apartheid government and adhering to apartheid conditions, the group, in time, became politically compromised, resulting in the rejection of the group by their own community and the cessation of opera production. However, their unquestioned acceptance of and commitment to the art of opera lead to the most extraordinary of performance trajectories. During apartheid, the Eoan Group provided a space for colored people to perform Western classical art forms in an environment that potentially transgressed racial boundaries and challenged perceptions of racial exclusivity in the genre of opera. This highly significant endeavor and the way it was thwarted at the hands of the apartheid regime is the story that unfolds in this book.Less
Opera, race, and politics during apartheid South Africa form the foundation of this historiographic work on the Eoan Group, a so-called colored cultural organization that performed opera in the Cape. The La Traviata Affair: Opera in the Time of Apartheid charts Eoan’s opera activities from its inception in 1933 until the cessation of its work by 1980. By accepting funding from the apartheid government and adhering to apartheid conditions, the group, in time, became politically compromised, resulting in the rejection of the group by their own community and the cessation of opera production. However, their unquestioned acceptance of and commitment to the art of opera lead to the most extraordinary of performance trajectories. During apartheid, the Eoan Group provided a space for colored people to perform Western classical art forms in an environment that potentially transgressed racial boundaries and challenged perceptions of racial exclusivity in the genre of opera. This highly significant endeavor and the way it was thwarted at the hands of the apartheid regime is the story that unfolds in this book.
Hilde Roos
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520299887
- eISBN:
- 9780520971516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520299887.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
Chapter 3 deals with the group’s opera productions between 1957 and 1963, which, in hindsight, proved to be artistically their best years. At the time, the idea of a colored opera group that produced ...
More
Chapter 3 deals with the group’s opera productions between 1957 and 1963, which, in hindsight, proved to be artistically their best years. At the time, the idea of a colored opera group that produced Verdi operas continued to mesmerize Cape Town’s white audiences and situated the group in the center of Cape Town’s Western art and music activities. Eoan was, indeed, the first non-European group in South Africa to formally and consistently produce opera on a semiprofessional level. A sense of excitement and wonder is palpable throughout this period, not only in documentation on the reception of the group, but also in the many artifacts in the Eoan Group Archive that document the internal operations of the group.Less
Chapter 3 deals with the group’s opera productions between 1957 and 1963, which, in hindsight, proved to be artistically their best years. At the time, the idea of a colored opera group that produced Verdi operas continued to mesmerize Cape Town’s white audiences and situated the group in the center of Cape Town’s Western art and music activities. Eoan was, indeed, the first non-European group in South Africa to formally and consistently produce opera on a semiprofessional level. A sense of excitement and wonder is palpable throughout this period, not only in documentation on the reception of the group, but also in the many artifacts in the Eoan Group Archive that document the internal operations of the group.
Hilde Roos
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520299887
- eISBN:
- 9780520971516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520299887.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
Chapter 4 covers the latter half of the 1960s, a time during which the group consolidated its reputation as an opera company, not only in Cape Town, but also elsewhere in South Africa. The chapter ...
More
Chapter 4 covers the latter half of the 1960s, a time during which the group consolidated its reputation as an opera company, not only in Cape Town, but also elsewhere in South Africa. The chapter illustrates how operatic activities were pursued with immense energy and dedication as members sacrificed time, family relations, and job opportunities to be able to participate in opera production. During this time, they remained hopeful that acknowledgment as professional artists on a par with their white counterparts would be forthcoming. This period, however, also saw the tightening grip of apartheid starting to take its toll as the system relentlessly continued to foil the group’s aspirations.Less
Chapter 4 covers the latter half of the 1960s, a time during which the group consolidated its reputation as an opera company, not only in Cape Town, but also elsewhere in South Africa. The chapter illustrates how operatic activities were pursued with immense energy and dedication as members sacrificed time, family relations, and job opportunities to be able to participate in opera production. During this time, they remained hopeful that acknowledgment as professional artists on a par with their white counterparts would be forthcoming. This period, however, also saw the tightening grip of apartheid starting to take its toll as the system relentlessly continued to foil the group’s aspirations.
Hilde Roos
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780520299887
- eISBN:
- 9780520971516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520299887.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
In chapter 5, the gradual stifling of Eoan’s opera productions in the 1970s is illustrated. After being moved out to Athlone on the Cape Flats, the group was effectively exiled from the central ...
More
In chapter 5, the gradual stifling of Eoan’s opera productions in the 1970s is illustrated. After being moved out to Athlone on the Cape Flats, the group was effectively exiled from the central position it used to occupy with regard to cultural activities (such as opera and ballet) in the city of Cape Town. At the same time, the detrimental effects of their political compromise on the support they used to enjoy within the colored community took on serious proportions. The underlying theme of this chapter is the increasing isolation (artistic and otherwise) the group experienced and the ebbing away of willpower and creative energy resulting in the cessation of operatic activities.Less
In chapter 5, the gradual stifling of Eoan’s opera productions in the 1970s is illustrated. After being moved out to Athlone on the Cape Flats, the group was effectively exiled from the central position it used to occupy with regard to cultural activities (such as opera and ballet) in the city of Cape Town. At the same time, the detrimental effects of their political compromise on the support they used to enjoy within the colored community took on serious proportions. The underlying theme of this chapter is the increasing isolation (artistic and otherwise) the group experienced and the ebbing away of willpower and creative energy resulting in the cessation of operatic activities.
