AFROPERA

Since the beginning of this century, I have had a practice in West Africa, where I experiment with other forms of opera, away from the European model. Part of this involves research into African forms of musical theatre. Sometimes there is a European influence, deliberate or intuitive, but sometimes there is a history that is separate from this, and often there are hybrid forms from different sources: I strongly agree with Glissant's views on this.

In addition to productions that follow the European model, where the librettist and composer are responsible for the entire work, I also experiment with forms of musical theatre that draw on the direct experiences of a community. Because music and dance are integrated into everyday life in all the communities I know in West Africa, these same communities can provide both the text material and the music. and practising music without dance is a great rarity, so this discipline automatically becomes part of the production as well. New projects in Senegal and Benin are in preparation.