This paper discusses how Wole Soyinka’s radio play A Scourge of
Hyacinths and Tania León’s opera Scourge of Hyacinths construct a
universal discourse characterized by the affirmation of their cultural
identities. Music and theater are fused in a work that combines the sociopolitical
concerns of the postcolonial discourse through visual metaphors
and musical eclecticism. The multiculturalism of these renowned
artists is articulated in an artistic symbiosis that criticizes the cultural
paternalism of the developed countries and the post-colonial political
heritage. Tania León’s Scourge of Hyacinths is a paradigmatic example
of how literature and music articulate the great aesthetic and political
themes of the fin du siècle.
