Hendrik Hofmeyr
Hendrik Hofmeyr (1957- ). South African composer.
Contents
Biography
Born Hendrik Pienaar Hofmeyr in Cape Town, he studied music at the University of Cape Town from 1976–81, then went to Italy, returning to South Africa in 1992, to teach at the University of Stellenbosch and later at the University of Cape Town, becoming Professor and Head of Composition and Theory.
Contribution to South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance
Besides his numerous longer works, chamber pieces, musical renderings of poems and other writings, Hofmeyr has written music for a Wim Wenders film, and by 2012 had composed music for 2 ballets and 6 operas - three of the operas based on South African texts. His works include:
- Il principe Barbablù (1986)
- The Fall of the House of Usher (1987), a chamber opera for which he won the Nederburg Opera Prize that year
- The Land of Heart’s Desire (1990)
- Lumukanda (1995), based on text by (Credo Mutwa)
- Die Laaste Aand (2001), based on the text by (C. Louis Leipoldt)
- Saartjie (2010), a 20 minute opera with a libretto by Hofmeyr himself. The opera was expanded into a full-length opera in 2022 as Sara Baartman with a libretto by Fiona Zerbst.
Sources
http://www.composers21.com/compdocs/hofmeyrh.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_Hofmeyr
Hilde Roos. 2012. 'Indigenisation and history: how opera in South Africa became South African opera'. Acta Academica Supplementum. 2012(1).
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