Windhoek Opera House: Namibia's First Opera Goes to Berlin

10/31/2023

The opera "Chief Hijangua" references the complicated relationship between Germany and Namibia. It aims to provoke discussion about history and common struggles and featuring performers from Namibia, Germany and South Africa.

The story of German settlers in southwest Africa, in what is present-day Namibia, was presented in September at Berlin's Haus des Rundfunks, under the leadership of conductor and composer Eslon Hindundu, who leads the Rundfunk Symfonie Orchester Berlin, as well as Berlin's Cantus Domus Chor and Vox Vitae Musica, which is dedicated to Namibian choral music.

Mr Hindundu worked with Kim Mira Meyer, a German opera director, to create "Chief Hijangua," the story of a lovelorn prince whose life is blighted by Germany's colonial occupation of his homeland. After a debut in Namibia's capital, Windhoek, and three performances in Berlin, it will tour elsewhere in Germany next year.

The collaboration fuses African and European operatic traditions. Young African soloists and a mixed choir from Berlin and Namibia sing in German and Otjiherero, a language spoken by Namibia's Herero people. Dancers, puppets and masks representing the dead forge a powerful allegory of the genocide of the Herero people by the German invaders. The ending is inevitably tragic, but Mr Hindundu's operatic career is off to a fine start. Thank you to our client and friend Bill B. for bringing this story to our attention!