The cantata will feature Sibongile Khumalo, who will be joined by soloists Otto Maidi, Stéfan Louw and Nozuko Teto. The Cape Town Opera Voice of the Nation chorus will also appear, along with Heavenly Voices Chorus and a string octet led by Marian Lewin.
More than 80 voices will celebrate the human spirit in South Africa, which rose above the horror and evil of the deeds that were committed in the name of apartheid against the backdrop of projected images and video by Gerhard Marx and Maya Marx.
Philip Miller has endeavoured to express in music the South African spirit as it manifested itself during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings that began in East London, in 1996. The songs in REwind, which mix operatic and traditional South African styles, are built around actual testimonies and weave recorded audio samples from the hearings into the music. The physical environment, designed by Gerhard Marx, creates a visual context that illuminates the full power of the cantata: through the use of animated projections of photographs and text the testimonies literally take form, enveloping the chorus on stage.
And as the words and images settle onto the everyday world, the spaces between the victim and transgressor, those who deliver testimony and those who listen, merge.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who saw the work said: "The cantata brought together the cry of our country - our pain and fears, our hopes and especially our triumphs and joys in the way we as South Africans can best express these emotions, in music and song. It was a deeply moving, most powerful and uplifting experience. It is so much more than a concert. It is a wonderful vehicle for telling our history and a contribution to nation building."
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission had been described in many ways: a Greek drama; a melodrama; a spectacle; a farce. The deliberations of the TRC took place on a stage in a hall. The backdrop was 50 years of apartheid. On stage were the good guys and the bad guys, the priests and the peasants, whites and blacks, cadres and cowards, women and children, heroes and informants, Hindus, heathens, Muslims and Methodists, and all told their personal stories to the country. It was narrative and counter-narrative, protagonist and antagonist. For months on end, ordinary South Africans described the devastation of their lives - some used humour, other used imagery. Some could hardly speak, others rambled on as if it was no longer possible to find a logical thread in their lives. Some told their stories with the dignity of the elderly in the rural areas, others with the phrasing of the action packed cities. The atmosphere was soaked with grief.
On another stage the perpetrators were telling their side of the story. Some were proud of what they did; others were ashamed. Some were completely destroyed by their inhumane acts; others felt betrayed by their race and political leaders. The atmosphere was soaked with guilt. Piece by piece the collective memory of South Africans was built. We learned that the country belonged to the voices that tell its stories.
REwind: A Cantata for Voice, Tape & Testimony will run at the Baxter Theatre for three performances only from 12 to 14 May at 8pm nightly. Ticket prices are R180, senior citizens, students and UCT staff, receive a 10 percent discount.
Booking is through Computicket on +27 (0)83 915 8000, online at www.computicket.co.za or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet countrywide. For discounted block, schools or corporate bookings, charities and fundraisers, contact Sharon on +27 (0)21 680 3962 or Carmen on +27 (0)21 680 3993 during office hours.
