Founder and chief executive officer of Vesta Orchestra and Opera Foundation Rosalyn Aninyei has said the organisation’s operatic adaptation of The Trials of Brother Jero was inspired by a desire to present Nigerian stories through a fresh artistic lens.
Speaking about the production, Aninyei said her childhood experiences watching plays at the National Arts Theatre sparked her interest in combining drama with orchestral music.
“I wanted to hear more instruments and more music in these plays,” she said, adding that repeated visits to opera performances in Vienna later inspired her to imagine a Nigerian audience for the art form.
According to her, Lagos was the ideal location for the premiere because of the city’s historic role as a centre for performing arts in West Africa.
She explained that the adaptation process involved close collaboration with composer Seun Owoaje and songwriter Kehinde Oretimehin, who transformed the original play into a libretto before the music was composed.
Aninyei noted that while some scenes had to be condensed to fit the operatic structure, the production retained the humour, satire and social commentary that made the original play a classic.
“The singing and continuous music element in opera adds an intense emotional dimension, which just speaking may not convey,” she said.
She described the production as both entertainment and social commentary, noting that the adaptation reflects growing interest among younger audiences in new interpretations of African literary works.
According to her, students from institutions including Lagos State University, University of Lagos and University of Ibadan expressed excitement about witnessing the opera adaptation of a Nigerian literary work.
Aninyei also highlighted funding as one of the biggest challenges faced during production, saying many potential sponsors were unfamiliar with opera as an art form.
Despite the challenges, she expressed optimism about the future of opera and musical theatre in Nigeria, revealing that there are plans to tour the production internationally and adapt more Nigerian stories into operas and musicals.
“There is a hunger for African stories globally. We must be the ones to tell them,” she said.
The opera adaptation of Soyinka’s play premiered on May 16 at the National Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos, with a 50 man orchestra and 25 man chorus.
Originally written by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, The Trials of Brother Jero is a satirical play centred on a self styled preacher whose manipulative tactics expose religious hypocrisy and social pretence. First staged in 1960, the play remains one of Soyinka’s most widely performed works.
Founded in 2017, the Vesta Orchestra and Opera Foundation focuses on promoting African classical music and supporting performing arts professionals across Nigeria and West Africa.
