In his AfrOpera, multidisciplinary artist Gorges Ocloo takes a look at individual and collective grief. What does it mean to be denied taking leave of a beloved person? The Grief of Red Granny blends the iconic Baroque work Stabat Mater by Pergolesi with African traditions into a universal sound of sorrow.

’I take Pergolesi into my voodoo church.’ (Gorges Ocloo) In his new AfrOpera The Grief of Red Granny, multi-disciplinary artist Gorges Ocloo takes a look at individual and collective grief. Where do you put your grief if it is given neither time nor space? What does it mean to be denied taking leave of a beloved person? Ocloo gives a voice to those who were never able to take leave of their beloved: victims of war, pandemics, terror attacks. To do so, he takes the iconic Baroque work Stabat Mater by Giovanni B. Pergolesi, which centres on the mother’s pain for her crucified son Jesus, overwrites it with African traditions and extends it with a new composition. Inspired by African burial rituals that combine grief and celebration, Ocloo has created a surreal ceremony and journey through time that passionately reclaims a space for grief.