Bucknor Thrills Fans with Clasical Music, as Brazil Proposes Cultural Partnership

Lyric soprano and creative artist Funmi Bucknor, has unveiled plans to stage an African opera next year after captivating audiences with her annual concert, Global Melodies, while securing a proposed Nigeria-Brazil cultural collaboration from the Brazilian Consulate in Lagos.
The concert, held at the Alliance Française, Mike Adenuga Centre, Lagos, blended opera, classical music, jazz and indigenous Nigerian songs, with performances in German, Italian and Czech alongside Yoruba renditions.
Speaking after the concert, Bucknor said the journey began with her debut concert in 2012 after years of musical training and choir experience.
She explained that launching her own concert became inevitable after years of preparation.
“I started because it was just the right time for me. Having gone through several trainings and having been a member of different choirs, I thought it was time for me to do my own concert,” she said.
Bucknor, who combines music with painting, writing and a career in human resources consulting, admitted that balancing multiple talents was challenging.
“To be honest, I don’t know how I’m able to marry everything, but somehow I am doing it. Sometimes I set others aside and give focus to one thing, but sometimes I’m able to juggle three at the same time,” she said.
She encouraged other multi-talented professionals not to suppress their gifts.
“I don’t even think it’s just a few people that are multi-talented. The way God has created us is that we are not one thing; we are several things at the same time,” she said.
For next year, Bucknor revealed plans to expand beyond concerts.
“I’m going to do music, but I’m also going to do a stage play. I’m writing a stage play which I hope to bring to life next year, and I also hope that eventually that stage play is turned into an African opera,” she said.
One of the evening’s highlights came when Brazil’s Consul General in Lagos, Ronaldo Vieira, mounted the stage and proposed that Bucknor includes Afro-Brazilian Yoruba music in the next edition of Global Melodies.
“This is Global Melodies, but I didn’t hear Brazil on the programme. So perhaps next year, we should travel to Brazil,” Vieira said, drawing applause from the audience.
Vieira later explained that Brazil’s historical ties with Yoruba culture inspired the proposal.
“I think one of the few countries outside Nigeria that speaks Yoruba is Brazil. We have songs in Yoruba in Brazil, and I didn’t see these songs. That’s why I came on stage to appeal to Funmi Bucknor to collaborate with us next year,” he said.
He disclosed that songs written in Yoruba and Portuguese by Black Brazilians had been discovered in the basement of a church in Brazil.
“I’d like to make a proposal. Why don’t we collaborate with Brazilian musicians and researchers? Then next year we can bring some of this beautiful Afro-Brazilian music to Lagos and share it with everyone,” he added.
Bucknor accepted the proposal, saying, “Absolutely! Thank you very much, Mr Ronaldo.”
Reflecting on the concert, Vieira described it as an emotional reunion.
“I don’t have words to describe it, really, because it’s about emotions and also about the intimate feelings that anyone can get from music. I know Funmi from before, and for me it was a re-encounter. Only joy—that’s the word I can use,” he said.
He advised emerging talents to remain persistent despite challenges.
Bucknor’s musical journey began at six when her father, a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, taught her to play the piano.
During the concert, she paused to acknowledge her parents, saying that they were “the people God used to give us the gift that is Funmi Bucknor.”
She later received formal vocal training at the Trinity College of Music, London, under the mentorship of her late spiritual father, Pastor Eskor Mfon.
Advising young women, she urged them “to continue so that they will grow and do whatever they want to do with their career.”
Bucknor’s uncle, Prof. Abayomi Durosimi-Etti, Consultant Oncologist at the Marcelle Ruth Cancer Centre, described the concert as a model Nigeria needed more of.
“This has been a wonderful concert. It’s been very lively, not too long, very exciting. We need more of this type of concert in Nigeria,” he said.
He urged gifted professionals to showcase their abilities.
“If you have a golden drum but don’t beat it, nobody’s going to hear the sound. Come out and let the world know what talent you have,” he said.
An emotional moment came when Mrs. Josephine Omofon, wife of Bucknor’s late mentor, Pastor Eskor Mfon, reflected on the singer’s journey.
“Funmi is my little girl. She has a wonderful voice. My nickname for her is ‘Olóhùn Iyọ’ (salt voice),” she said.
She encouraged young singers to trust God and develop their gifts patiently.
“They should put their hope in God and work on their talent. They start small, and the Lord will take them higher. Fumi has worked very hard, and we’re beginning to see the dividend,” she said.
Throughout the evening, Bucknor introduced operatic classics including Richard Strauss’ The Night, Giacomo Puccini’s Tu che di gel sei cinta from Turandot, and Charles Gounod’s Faust, before closing with indigenous and gospel performances that earned standing ovations from the audience.