Nigerian Orchestra transforms Soyinka satire into full-scale opera

The National Theatre in Lagos on Saturday (May 16) hosted the Vesta Orchestra's tenth anniversary celebration with an operatic production that blended Nigeria's theatrical heritage with classical music.

Founded by Rosalyn Aninyei, the Vesta Orchestra assembled twenty actors and forty orchestra musicians to perform an operatic adaptation of Wole Soyinka's "Trials of Brother Jero."

The production transformed the Nobel laureate's satirical play into a full-scale opera, complete with soaring vocals, dramatic orchestration, and the comedic brilliance that has made Soyinka's work enduring.

"It is nice to see that the talents in Nigeria is being showcased," said entrepreneur Olawale Jafojo. "Nigerians, we are talented and we have a depth of history in this country."

Written in 1960, "The Trials of Brother Jero" is a satirical comedy about a fake prophet named Brother Jeroboam who tricks and manipulates his followers on a Lagos beach for money and power. The play uses humour to criticize religious con artists and show how easily people can be fooled by them.

Violinist Rosalyn Aninyei founded Vesta Orchestra ten years ago in a bid to enliven the classical music scene in Lagos by performing works of contemporary Nigerian and African composers. As in many Nigerian cities, music is inescapable but classical music is not well known.

"I want them to understand how beautiful the human connection is with opera, because it brings spectacle, it brings music, it brings drama," she explained. "We are very operatic people, we are dramatic and we are very musical, so why not?"

Aninyei said the idea to transform the play into opera hit her in February 2025. 

The fusion of Western operatic form, with distinctly Nigerian storytelling created what some attendees described as an immersive experience of blending classical opera with Nigerian storytelling.

Production: Sanni Kazeem, Angela Ukomadu/Reuters