'Madness: Songs of Hope and Despair' is a groundbreaking opera conceived by Dr Sean Baumann, a senior specialist psychiatrist in the department of psychiatry and mental health at the University of Cape Town. The music was composed by Galina Juritz (with Dizu Plaatjies), to Dr Baumann’s libretto.
After a premiere at the World Psychiatry Conference, the cantata had a two week run at the Baxter Theatre, Cape Town, in February of 2017. The production brought mental illness and psychotic experiences into the spotlight, using a combination of music and sound design, song and imagery (including illustrations by Fiona Moodie and videography by Koeka Stander), in an attempt to portray the complexities and also the wonder of these strange and ultimately unknowable worlds.
The live ensemble featured nine opera singers and seven musicians conducted by Chad Hendricks and directed by Lara Foot Newton. This performance was recorded live at the Baxter Theatre in February 2017 with a final mix by Rob Brinkworth.
Singers:
Monwabisi Lindi (Patient/Themba), Fikile Mthetwa (Mother), Nolubabalo Babalwa Mdayi (Lover), Ebenezer Sawuli ‘madoda’ (Doctor), Palesa Portia Malieloa (Nurse), Siphesihle Mdena (Neuroscientist), Linda Nteleza (Healer), Vuyisa Jack (Patient 6), Lungile Halam (Priest)
Instrumentalists:
Galina Juritz, Matthijs van Dijk (violin), Sarah Evans, Azra Isaacs (viola), Luke Otto, Robert Jeffery (cello), Graham H Strickland (double bass), Gene Kierman (french horn), Zeke Le Grange (soprano saxophone)