An Opera of the World

In An Opera of the World Malian scholar and filmmaker Manthia Diawara reflects upon the refugee crisis and the relationship between Europe and Africa The film revolves around a 2008 performance of Bintou Were a Sahel Opera by Zé Manel Fortes with a libretto by Koulsy Lamko in Bamako around which Diawara builds a story about migration interweaving interviews with documentary and archival footage In the course of the film one crosses into the world of opera from the tradition of sung wisdoms and sentiments which has characterized West African culture for centuries If opera is often understood as an überEuropean art formthe Gesamtkunstwerk invoked by Richard WagnerDiawara chooses to meditate on its movement or migration as opposed to its expansion or totality What happens when opera moves south from Europe to Africa just as so many people from that continent are moving north in search of better lives