What a fabulous evening at Leeds Grand Theatre for this production of Mozart’s Requiem and After Tears: After A Requiem by Neo Muyanga. It wasn’t opera in its usual sense, more a concert piece by Opera North combined with the Phoenix Dance Theatre, Jazzart Dance Theatre and Cape Town Opera.
You would have thought that a work written in 1791, left uncompleted by Mozart at the time of his death and finished by Franz Xaver Süssmayr, would not sit comfortably with a piece having its World Premiere this very evening, but the two were remarkably compatible.
The subtitle for Requiem is Mass for the Dead, and, sung in Latin with English titles, was indeed a prayer for the safekeeping of lost souls. Other composers have written their own variations following some cataclysmic event, Neo Muyanga being the latest. This time to acknowledge the huge number of lives lost to the COVIC pandemic, which hit his native South Africa particularly badly.
Soloists Simon Shibambu, bass, Ann Taylor, alto and Ellie Laugharne, soprano (1)
As you would expect, the Mozart piece is not a bundle of fun, but neither is it morbid. I found the mood to be uplifting, helped by the amazing dancing by Phoenix Dance Theatre and Jazzart Dance Theatre of South Africa. Phoenix providing five dancers and Jazzart four, although they were so well rehearsed that you would have thought they had been together for years. The full companies of both organisations were involved in After Tears.
Tenor Mongezi Mosoaka (1)
It was a similar story with the solo singers who, backed by the Chorus of Opera North, consisted of Soprano, Ellie Laugharne and Alto, Ann Taylor who have both sung many roles for Opera North, along with Mongezi Mosoaka, Tenor and Bass, Simon Shibambu, both from South Africa. Not only did they provide the solos but participated to some degree in the dancing. I am sure that they were grateful not to have been asked to do some of the more extreme moves but their limited contribution knitted the two disciplines wonderfully.
The dancers (1)
The Chorus of Opera North were on their usual sparkling form, with Chorus Master Oliver Rundell, as was the Orchestra under the baton of Music Director of Opera North, Garry Walker.
Chorus of Opera North (1)
The second part of the programme, After Tears: After A Requiem by Neo Muyanga, was a much more upbeat affair. It still deals with loss but is a call for the community to come together to overcome distress and loss and rebuild. After tears is a new phenomenon in South Africa and is a gathering of youthful mourners who come to celebrate the life of the recently deceased person by playing loud dance music and having a party. Whereas the elder members of society mourn their loss in a more sombre way, the youngsters celebrate having known them. Taking the two works together reminded me of the New Orleans funerals where the jazz band plays mournful music on the way to the cemetery and more joyful tunes on the way back to the wake.
Once again the singers were involved in movement as well as voice. It was, however, the dancing which amazed me, not only by its athleticism but also the interpretation of the music. It wasn’t a case of miming the words of the pieces, more an interpretation of the underlying idea. That sentence was obviously written by someone who is no expert on the subject, but one who is beginning to appreciate the art form even if unable to understand all the nuances.
The other thing about the dancers was the amount of trust they had in one another. In a couple of moves one of them would fall backwards as though in a faint, only to be caught at the last moment by another member of the troupe who didn’t seem to be involved in the action. There were also the occasional set tableaux where they would pause in a collective pose.
Dane Hurst, the Director and Choreographer did a superb job in melding the two companies. Born in South Africa, in 2020 he was appointed Associate Artist in Residence at Jazzart Dance Theatre and, in the same year, Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Theatre, a cv which goes some way to explaining the cohesion between the two sets of performers.
Set, Costume and Video Designer, Joanna Parker, created the atmosphere with the set being minimalist and dark during the Mozart work, all of the singers and chorus dressed in black, whilst the dancers were clad in muted shades before a plain black backdrop. In the Muyanga work, although the singers remained in black, the dancers changed into vibrant shades of red, orange and brown with the backdrop being used as a screen to show projected abstract shapes, again in vivid colours.
Add the lighting effects by Lighting Designer, Peter Mumford, to the mix and the contrasting moods of the pieces were conveyed completely.
Mbulelo Ndabeni was the Dramaturge/Rehearsal Director for Phoenix Dance Theatre and Nkosinathi Sangweni the Rehearsal Director for Jazzart Dance Theatre. Both men deserving of the highest praise for their efforts.
The dancers involved on opening night were: Aaron Chaplin, Carina Howard, Hannah McGlashon, Yasmina Patel and Shawn Willis from Phoenix Dance Theatre, whilst Jazzart Dance Theatre was represented by Ryan Jansen, Abigail Overmeyer, Emile Petersen and Vuyelwa Phota.
For once, should you wish to experience the production for yourself, although nothing comes close to seeing a spectacular event such as this in person, I heard on the radio this morning that the concert has been filmed and will be broadcast on BBC4 tv, so keep your eyes out for that. My sympathies to my non-UK resident readers.
Requiem and After Tears: After A Requiem is at Leeds Grand Theatre with performances on Tuesday, 31st May, Wednesday, 1st June, Saturday 3rd June, all at 7.00pm and Sunday, 4th June at 2.30pm. For more details and to make a booking, please go to https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/mozart-requiem/
Featured image from Opera North. Photography for Requiem (1) by Richard H Smith and After Tears: After A Requiem (2) by Tristram Kenton
Tyke It To The Limit 