Trends of Opera in Nigeria from Pre-Colonial to Contemporary Modernism

Abstract

Opera, an art form, came to Nigeria and met various forms of music-theatres among the Yoruba traditional societies during the colonial period. It subsequently developed trends and variants that can be referred to as Nigerian opera, evolving alongside modern advancements in Nigeria. The origins and analyses of Nigerian folk opera and post-independence Nigerian opera have been explored by scholars, but there exists a dearth of comprehensive studies charting the development of Nigerian opera up to the 21st century. Using Structuralism Theory, the present study focuses on a chronological view of Nigerian opera. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources, collated, and analysed through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The findings reveal four operatic trends in Nigeria: the classical, folk, post-colonial, and contemporary operatic trends. The study concludes that Nigerian opera, as an established eclectic genre of music and theatre, requires collaborative efforts for further development so that it can be instituted as a national heritage beneficial to human, educational, cultural, artistic, scientific, and economic development at local, national, continental, and global levels.