Opera Productions
In 2012, the first Kenyan opera, Ondieki the Fisherman, was produced. It soon became apparent there was untapped vocal talent in Kenya. During the last decade, Baraka Opera Kenya has exposed artists through the entire operations of opera productions to creating awareness about its interdisciplinary nature as an art form. BOK aims to inspire a generation of professional artists and artisans through the genre of opera.
2020 - Best Musical Production (Sanaa Theatre Awards)
2021 - Nominated for Best production (Kenya Theatre Awards)
https://youtu.be/XU9WtcinLeA
Ondieki the Fisherman
“Ondieki the Fisherman” was written by Francis William Chandler in 1973. Inspired by a folk tale written by his student, Sarah Alai, Chandler wrote the libretto and the music to commemorate the grand opening of the school’s new theatre and assembly hall. The tale recounts the deeds of a foolish, wife-battering fisherman, from the shores of Lake Victoria.
In 1973, Chandler had initially composed the music specifically for an all-female cast including the then 16-year old Rhoda Ondeng who sang the lead soprano, Mariamu - Ondieki’s wife. Ondeng has since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed operatic soprano.
In 2012, the revival of Ondieki the Fisherman became a showcase for Kenyan talent; a promising sign that, with appropriate funding, there is enough talent in Kenya to create world class music theatre productions.
Nyanga: Runaway Grandmother
Under the leadership of Kenyan-born international opera singer, Rhoda Ondeng Wilhelmsen, Baraka Opera Trust staged the world premier of a new Kenyan opera, “Nyanga: Runaway Grandmother” in October 2021.
The true story of Nyanga, a young shepherdess and daughter of a medicine man, takes place in a remote village on the Kano plains (present day Kisumu) at the turn of twentieth century. With the arrival of the first white missionaries, two cultures meet with consequences that will impact future generations of Kenyans in unprecedented ways.
Young Nyanga makes a momentous decision to run away from home, and unwittingly crosses hitherto unknown barriers of geography, history, race and gender.
Nyanga: Runaway Grandmother is a fully staged theatrical work, that combines traditional Kenyan and western classical music.
Composed by F.W. Chandler, “Nyanga: Runaway Grandmother”, has created a lasting legacy that will hopefully inspire future generations of artistically creative Kenyans, to write their own operas.
