Faced with an uncertain future, some turn to fortune-telling, while others consult an oracle. When confronted with an inexplicable problem, some pray to God, while others seek answers from the Buddha. These age-old practices endure even today, though some may now turn to Google or AI algorithms for guidance. This eternal question of humanity has inspired contemporary art master William Kentridge to create his multimedia performance Sibyl, an alchemical blend of visual and auditory storytelling。
Who was the Sibyl? In ancient Greece, the term referred to female prophets who conveyed divine revelations. As early as the fifth century BC, written records describe her as “The Sibyl, with frenzied lips, uttering words beyond ridicule—simple and unadorned, yet, through divine power, her voice endures for a thousand years.”
Kentridge drew inspiration from the most famous of these figures, the Cumaean Sibyl. This prophetess of Apollo resided in a cave near Naples, where people came to seek answers. She would inscribe her responses on oak leaves, scattering them at the entrance of the cave. Inevitably, the wind would stir the leaves. Even if one found an answer, they might never know whether it was meant for them or someone else.
This ancient method of prophecy became the conceptual foundation for Kentridge’s Sibyl. This production combines a 22-minute film, The Moment Has Gone, with a 42-minute chamber opera, Waiting for the Sibyl. Widely acclaimed and performed in major theaters worldwide, Sibyl won the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award in 2023 and is set to debut at the Taipei Performing Arts Center in April 2025
The Most Influential Contemporary Artist
Kentridge, who celebrates his 70th birthday this year, was born in 1955 in Johannesburg, during a time when South Africa was still under the unjust system of apartheid. His parents, both human rights lawyers, greatly influenced him, and though he eventually pursued a career in art, his works continue to strongly reflect his humanitarian concerns and political views.
He began learning charcoal drawing at the age of eight, displaying remarkable artistic talent. Although he later studied politics and African studies at university, it was through drawing that he gained international recognition. He once attended theater school in Paris with aspirations to become an actor, but he recalled, “I was fortunate to discover I wasn’t cut out to be an actor…so I was'reduced to' be an artist, which I accepted.”
Although initially recognized as a visual artist, Kentridge has been deeply involved in theater from an early age. At 20, he began working as both an actor and director in South African theater, later branching into film and stage production. He has designed and directed opera productions globally, including Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Shostakovich’s The Nose, each reflecting his distinctive artistic vision and earning widespread acclaim. His 2015 productions of Berg’s Lulu and Wozzeck were praised as “provocative and visually stunning.
From Myth to Stage: Prophesy Reimagined
Sibyl also provides a powerful sensory experience to the audience. Its origin was tied to the American sculptor Alexander Calder (1898–1976), who also involved in theater set design. In 1968, Calder directed and designed the ballet Work in Progress for the Rome Opera House. Half a century later, the same theater commissioned Kentridge to create a companion piece, leading to the 2019 debut of Waiting for the Sibyl.
The performance of Sibyl presented today still went through years of refinement. Originally, the Rome Opera House had planned to use recorded music, but Kentridge insisted on live music. He collaborated with two musicians: Nhlanhla Mahlangu, who was responsible for choral direction and choreography, and jazz pianist Kyle Shepherd, who composed the score.
Mahlangu, a South African artist from the township slums, graduated from the renowned Moving into Dance Mophatong company. With expertise in dance, singing, composition, and theater production, he is celebrated internationally for his work rooted in South African traditional music and dance. He has collaborated with Kentridge on multiple projects. In Sibyl, Mahlangu not only choreographed the vocal and dance sequences but also personally led the ensemble on stage.
Regarding the musical approach in Sibyl, Mahlangu explained, “I brought tradition and instinct; Shepherd brought the classical style and technique.” Shepherd, a distinguished South African pianist and composer, has released seven jazz albums and composed for film and television. In Sibyl, he was responsible for composing and designing the music, while also performing live piano on stage.
The 42-minute Waiting for the Sibyl opens with Kentridge’s signature rotating sculptures, where fragmented images merge and dissolve in shifting light—mirroring the Sibyl’s cryptic prophecies. Six projected scenes explore universal existential questions, with texts drawn from Kentridge’s extensive collection of multilingual aphorisms, transformed into enigmatic messages projected onto the grand screen.
On stage, nine singer-dancers portray the Sibyl and those seeking her counsel. Their dynamic, movement-driven performance transcends language, powerfully conveying the meaning of music and dance, immersing the audience in raw emotional energy. Mahlangu explained that he adapted the Sibyl’s prophecies into South African cultural terms, inviting singers and dancers with a deep connection to ancestral spiritual traditions to join the performance
A Breathtaking Theatrical Spectacle
To complete the production, Kentridge added the 22-minute film The Moment Has Gone as a prelude to the chamber opera Waiting for the Sibyl. This film integrates his charcoal-animated City Deep with documentary footage of his artistic process. Set against the backdrop of an art gallery and an abandoned mine, The Moment Has Gone explores South Africa’s turbulent transition from apartheid to democracy. During the screening, the film is accompanied by Shepherd’s live piano performance and a four-man ensemble led by Mahlangu.
In The Moment Has Gone, the audience can deeply experience “Isicathamiya,” a traditional Zulu vocal style that originally described a lion “walking softly.” This style of singing is smooth and gentle, requiring singers to focus on the harmony between their voices. Isicathamiya emerged in the late 19th century among the Zulu people, and in the 1980s, it gained international popularity thanks to the efforts of the choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Isicathamiya was originally a male a cappella style, but in The Moment Has Gone, it was reimagined as a male vocal quartet accompanied by Shepherd’s piano, revealing the suppressed joy of laborers stealing fleeting moments of respite. In Waiting for the Sibyl, both the music and dance become more expansive and unpredictable, completing the dramatic arc of the entire performance.
Following its premiere, Sibyl has received widespread acclaim in theaters worldwide. Kentridge offers audiences a twofold experience. On one level, there is the sheer sensory pleasure: his acclaimed drawings, the rich culture of South African song and dance, and the mesmerizing interplay of light, set design, and costumes—creating a theatrical spectacle of breathtaking beauty.
Yet beneath this dazzling spectacle lies a deeper philosophical inquiry—one that Kentridge invites us to contemplate while watching Sibyl. These are fundamental dilemmas of human existence: in the tension between chaos and order, between hope and despair, how do we make our choices?
And as modern society moves beyond the illusions of the prophetess, can we still resist the false certainty and authority masked by algorithms and big data? This is the lasting resonance of Sibyl, a question that lingers in our mind long after we step out of the Taipei Performing Arts Center and into the night.
