Hillbrow youth collaborate with their Germany counterparts in creating a musical opera to be streamed live
By CityLIfe Arts Writer
In what will be a first in music theatre history, audiences from two cities will experience a new operatic composition, streamed simultaneously in Johannesburg and Bielefeld Germany. At Your Doorstep / Vor Deiner Tür is a contemporary opera/ musical theatre work for young audiences that traces the political concerns, private needs as well as the hopes and dreams for happiness of young people on two continents. A chamber opera in two parts, the music is created by South African composer Matthew MacFarlane and Swiss composer Marc L. Vogler with a libretto by Robert Lehmeier.
Crafted through a participatory process, with input from young people who attended libretto workshops in Bielefeld and Hillbrow, the work explores digital friendships and virtual relationships while teasing out the tensions of race, class, and the potential dangers of online engagement. The production goes live on the 29th March till the 5th April.
“This is one of the most unique and interesting projects I have had the pleasure of being involved in,” says South African composer Matthew MacFarlane. “It is something that has truly emerged from our current way of life in a global sense.”