Postcolonial Opera (Paperback)

Paperback. Opera has long been known for its ability to be used as a tool for colonial expression. But it is increasingly used to narrate histories of colonial trauma, oppression, and struggle. What does it mean for a colonial form to represent the experiences of those it used to exclude and undermine? How can opera adapt to meet the challenges of ethical representation and reparation?In response to these questions, Postcolonial Opera: WilliamKentridge and the Unbounded Work of Art examines the social and political role of opera in the postcolony. Taking the multimedia operatic experiments of William Kentridge, South Africa's most celebratedcontemporary visual artist, as a starting point, author Juliana M. Pistorius investigates contemporary opera's potential to process the troubled histories that haunt post- and decolonial societies. Centered around the critical-theoretical themes of return, confession, mourning, time, displacement, and totality, the book considers Kentridge's productions for puppets (Il Ritorno d'Ulisse, 1998; Confessions of Zeno, 2002), his operatic installation for a miniature automatedtheatre (Black Box/Chambre Noire, 2005), his chamber work for performers and machines (Refuse the Hour, 2012), and his 'processional operas' (Triumphs and Laments, 2016; The Head & the Load, 2018). Pistorius argues that theartist's newly conceived operatic form, built on ideas of unboundedness rather than totality or formlessness, offers opportunities to engage anew with questions of race, coloniality, and cultural belonging in the postcolony. While Kentridge's pieces take the artist's responsibility to deal with the genre's colonial past seriously, she shows how they also offer humor, beauty, and catalytic opportunities to reimagine the form and function of opera in the postcolonialpresent.Postcolonial Opera intervenes in contemporary debates about opera's relevance and contributes to the growing study of the art form's relationship with race and coloniality. Ultimately, Pistoriusargues that Kentridge's multimedia experiments--at once local and global--present compelling perspectives on the contradictions and compromises of the genre's position in the postcolony. Postcolonial Opera examines the social and political role of opera in the postcolony. Taking the multimedia operatic experiments of William Kentridge, South Africa's most celebrated contemporary visual artist, as a starting point, author Juliana M. Pistorius investigates contemporary opera's potential to process the troubled histories that haunt post- and decolonial societies. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.