3 - Opera Diponegoro

Summary

A very large reproduction of nineteenth-century painter Raden Saleh's depiction of the arrest of Diponegoro (one of the most prominent Javanese heroes of the nineteenth century) by the Dutch extended across the back of the proscenium stage; contemporary painters added new figures on the right side to maintain the proportions. The play began with a monologue (in Indonesian) by narrator and choreographer Sardono W. Kusumo, intro¬ducing himself as Raden Saleh. Sardono addressed the audience: “In the era of democracy, it is important that I ask the opinion of many people … As Raden Saleh, should I wear a mustache or not?” Many audience members answered “yes” to the question, while a few responded in the negative. Sardono replied: “Thank you for your opinion, because all opinions should be respected. I value your opinions, but I must insist that I will carry out my own opinion alone—Raden Saleh does not wear a mustache.” The audience laughed; at a time when Suharto's New Order regime was widely considered to be losing its sense of democracy, the relevance of such a comment was quite apparent. Sardono then explained the historical context of Saleh and his painting, sketching a background of Diponegoro as a nineteenth-century heroic figure rebelling against Dutch colonialism.