Spring is the passage all beauty has to overcome
Selemo
S'busiso Shozi, Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Centre for the Less Good Idea
Centre for the Less Good Idea
Back into the light, back to beauty and back to life! Spring represents the power of transformation, rebirth and an ancient promise of prosperity. What can this fantasy of abundance mean for us culturally, spiritually and sonically, across geographical boundaries? South African composers and performers S'busiso Shozi and Nhlanhla Mahlangu from the Johannesburg Centre for the Less Good Idea take a fresh approach to the concept of spring through body, sound and voice in their chamber opera Selemo.
Together with orchestra musicians from the Komische Oper Berlin, they engage in a musical conversation about returning to a deeply rooted understanding of nature beyond the colonial calendar system. African rites of passage meet baroque splendour, Vivaldi's violin concerto La primavera meets Amahubo, the ritual music of the Zulu. The world premiere of Selemo, co-produced with the Neuköllner Oper, is all about new beginnings, exchange and celebration together.
A springtime opera [2026]
S'busiso Shozi, Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Centre for the Less Good Idea
S'busiso Shozi, Nhlanhla Mahlangu
Centre for the Less Good Idea
Premiere on February 12, 2026
Co-production with the Neuköllner Oper
isiZulu, Sesotho, English, German, French, Tshivenda
1hr 15min
The last remaining tickets for sold-out performances are available at the box office of the Neuköllner Oper.