The Grief of Red Granny

About

"I bring Pergolesi into my Voodoo church." In his new AfrOpera The Grief of Red Granny, multidisciplinary artist Gorges Ocloo explores individual and collective grief. Where can grief go when there is neither time nor space for it? What does it mean when we are denied a farewell to a loved one? Ocloo gives voice to those who could not say goodbye to their relatives: victims of wars, pandemics, and terrorist attacks. To this end, he overwrites Pergolesi’s iconic Baroque Stabat Mater—centered on a mother’s pain for her crucified son—with African traditions and complements it with new compositions. Inspired by African funeral rituals that unite mourning and celebration, Ocloo creates a surreal ceremony and time travel that passionately reclaims a space for grief.