Difference between revisions of "Bongani Ndodana-Breen"

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Bongani Ndodana-Breen has written a wide range of music encompassing symphonic work, opera, chamber music and vocal music, including:
 
Bongani Ndodana-Breen has written a wide range of music encompassing symphonic work, opera, chamber music and vocal music, including:
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Themba & Seliba, children’s opera
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(Libretto by Gwyneth Lloyd. Premiere by Co-Opera at Monument Theatre in Grahamstown 1996 & National Arts Festival Grahamstown 1997)
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Uhambo, opera-oratorio (1998)
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(Based on Guy Butler’s “Pilgrimage to Dias Cross. Premiere by Cape Town Opera conducted by the composer at Monument Theatre, National Arts Festival Grahamstown 1998)
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Lives of African Women: Umuntu, Threnody & Dances (2000)
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(Soprano, 4 celli, percussion. Libretto by the composer. Premiere by Linda Bukhosini, soprano, Durban 2000. Music Director: Juan Burgess)
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Hani, short opera (2010)
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(Libretto by Mfundi Vundla. Premiere at Baxter Theatre in Cape Town 2010, Director Marcus Desando, Cape Town Opera, University of Cape Town Opera School, Cape Philharmonic/Khamal Khan)
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Winnie, the Opera (2011)
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(Libretto by Mfundi Vundla & Warren Wilensky. Premiere at the Pretoria State Theatre, 2011. Director Shirley-Jo Finney. Kwa Zulu Natal Philharmonic/Jonas Alber).
  
 
''[[Winnie, The Opera]]'' based on the life of Mrs Winnie Mandela, which premiered in 2011 to great acclaim at the State Theatre in Pretoria.  
 
''[[Winnie, The Opera]]'' based on the life of Mrs Winnie Mandela, which premiered in 2011 to great acclaim at the State Theatre in Pretoria.  
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''[[Hani]]'', a short opera commissioned by [[UCT]] and [[Cape Town Opera]] and premiered at the [[Baxter Theatre]], Cape Town in 2010.
 
''[[Hani]]'', a short opera commissioned by [[UCT]] and [[Cape Town Opera]] and premiered at the [[Baxter Theatre]], Cape Town in 2010.
  
''[[Credo]]'', a multimedia oratorio (based on South Africa’s Freedom Charter) with libretto by novelist Brent Meersman and multimedia design by Andrew Black was commissioned by the University of South Africa and premiered at the ZK Mathews Hall in Pretoria on July 18, 2013. Credo featured a cast led by Sibongile Khumalo and the JPO and was broadcast nationally on SABC TV in the presence of the President of South Africa.  Credo was presented again on Freedom Day (April 27) 2014 by Artscape in Cape Town as part of the commemoration of 20 Years of Democracy in South Africa.
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''[[Credo]]'' (2013)
  
 
==Awards==
 
==Awards==

Revision as of 18:08, 23 February 2024

Bongani Ndodana-Breen Composer.

Biography

Training

Ndodana-Breen graduated from Rhodes University with a PhD in Music Composition.

Career

He was Director of the Canadian new music organization Ensemble Noir from 1999 – 2007 touring to Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

Bongani Ndodana-Breen has written a wide range of music encompassing symphonic work, opera, chamber music and vocal music, including:

Themba & Seliba, children’s opera (Libretto by Gwyneth Lloyd. Premiere by Co-Opera at Monument Theatre in Grahamstown 1996 & National Arts Festival Grahamstown 1997)

Uhambo, opera-oratorio (1998)

(Based on Guy Butler’s “Pilgrimage to Dias Cross. Premiere by Cape Town Opera conducted by the composer at Monument Theatre, National Arts Festival Grahamstown 1998) Lives of African Women: Umuntu, Threnody & Dances (2000) (Soprano, 4 celli, percussion. Libretto by the composer. Premiere by Linda Bukhosini, soprano, Durban 2000. Music Director: Juan Burgess) Hani, short opera (2010) (Libretto by Mfundi Vundla. Premiere at Baxter Theatre in Cape Town 2010, Director Marcus Desando, Cape Town Opera, University of Cape Town Opera School, Cape Philharmonic/Khamal Khan) Winnie, the Opera (2011) (Libretto by Mfundi Vundla & Warren Wilensky. Premiere at the Pretoria State Theatre, 2011. Director Shirley-Jo Finney. Kwa Zulu Natal Philharmonic/Jonas Alber).

Winnie, The Opera based on the life of Mrs Winnie Mandela, which premiered in 2011 to great acclaim at the State Theatre in Pretoria.

Themba and Seliba, a children’s chamber opera

Umuntu–Threnody, a chamber monodrama (commissioned by the National Arts Council)

Hani, a short opera commissioned by UCT and Cape Town Opera and premiered at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town in 2010.

Credo (2013)

Awards

He was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Music in 1998 and selected as one of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans of 2011.

Sources

Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

Official website. https://www.ndodanabreen.com/bio/


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