The primary focus of this qualitative research project is on the articulation of contexts
and identity in operatic texts. In literature, postmodern appropriations and re-writings
of classic nineteenth-century texts have changed perceptions about the ability of the
marginalized Other’s identity to change. As a discursive phenomenon, opera helped
to shape nineteenth-century perceptions of the exotic Other. This thesis argues that
the appropriation of operatic texts to reflect various contexts induces the potential to
shape alternative perceptions about identity. In U-Carmen eKhayelitsha (2005), a
cinematic adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen (1873–74), director Mark Dornford-May
revisits earlier versions of Carmen and uses semiotics and several other narrative
strategies in order to articulate the identities of the African female Other within the
context of a post-apartheid township. This thesis illustrates how the dialectic
relationship between text, context and identity formation becomes evident in the
analysis and comparison of Prosper Mérimée’s novella Carmen (1845), George
Bizet’s eponymous opera and U-Carmen eKhayelitsha. / Thesis (PhD (Music))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/8973 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Viljoen, Susanna Isobella |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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