The goodness of Opera Jawa

Opera Jawa isn’t great; but it is good in one very important way: it is a full length art movie executed entirely in the Javanese idiom. The music, the singing, the dancing, the costumes, the plot, the style of story telling are all entirely Javanese, there is no concession to any westernizing or “modern” influences. Except perhaps for the mannequins – an intrustion of conceptual art – it isn’t popped up or Europed-up or jean-ed up. It’s well-nigh 100% Javanese.

It is also a kreasi – all the songs and dances are new, the authors’ correct insight being that old culture is not preserved through repetition, museum-like, but through the creation of new works in the old style. Or rather, out of the old style: every new creation changes the old style; but a good creation changes the old style in a way which leaves the old style still recognizable.

I am not a connoisseur of Javanese singing and therefore can’t tell whether the music and singing is any good (Javanese singing, like European and Indian, is highly technical, but unlike European and Indian, it isn’t athletic, which perhaps fools me), but I can tell that the dances are lousy. Only Ravana dances well; and most choreographies stink (they are indifferent and, it seems, untutored). (There is a good bit on the (western) bed but it is brief and has no classical elements). But this often happens with new creations: any departure from the tried and true (‘classical’) risks failure; often many failures are needed before a truly good breakthrough is made.

One wishes for more such attempts; and applauds Opera Jawa for having shown the way.