‘Reasoning’ fails to live up to billing
LAST Wednesday, the Music Unites Jamaica Foundation and the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts staged a forum dubbed Reggae goes Opera: A Reasoning With Music, at the Vera Moody Concert Hall.
Composer/pianist Peter Ashbourne and Austria-born Rosina Moder organised the event which is a precursor to Reggae Opera, an Ashbourne project to be released later this year.
The event failed to live up to its billing with some patrons questioning the caption by the show’s end.
Ashbourne started proceedings with his commentary, Opera Traditions and the Modern Situation, Current Events Using Opera.
He played a visual of a recent news item about an alleged police killing in an inner-city community. Vocalist Teisha Duncan performed an opera based on the incident.
“Wi nuh ah nuh justice inna west Kingston and dem come here and kill off people… wi need help,” goes the song.
Ashbourne spoke of his upcoming project, a fusion of reggae and opera.
“It is going to be staged in October up at Philip Sherlock and it is billed as Reggae Opera. My analogy is that, making this so-called Reggae Opera, is like mixing oil and custard,” Ashbourne told an amused audience.
One of the programme’s more amusing items was the skit, I Wanna Sing Opera performed by soprano Marcia Hall and Mickel Gordon.
Michael Sean Harris’ performance of Mikey — A Reggae Opera (about the late dub poet Michael Smith who was stoned to death 30 years ago in Stony Hill), was another high point.
Dancehall deejay Charlie Chaplin, billed as a main attraction, cancelled his appearance due to illness.
Chaplin, one of the top deejays of the 1990s, has worked with German opera singer Nastassja Nass who has been invited to be part of Reggae Opera.
Also featured on the programme were Brian Heap, director designate of Opera as Theatre; Father Ho Lung and Friends’ musical director Wynton Williams with vocalist Symone Thomas; 1865-An Opera, based on the Morant Bay Rebellion by Frank Halliburton, composer/conductor of the University Singers; and Hardtalk — A Jamaica Chamber Opera by Andrew Marshall composer/founder of Jamaica Choral Scholars.
