TWO:30 and More Set for Cape Town Opera, June 2013

By: Jun. 09, 2013
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June is upon us and Cape Town Opera (CTO) is - in the words of Oscar Hammerstein II - 'bustin' out all over'. Here are just some of the highlights for the coming months, as well as news of CTO's tour of PORGY AND BESS to Wiesbaden.

TWO:30

Two new 30 minute operas (Philip Miller's BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE: A DICTIONARY OF A MINING ACCIDENT and Carl Unander-Scharin's SING THE BODY ELECTRIC) will come to Cape Town on 13, 14 and 15 June. There are less than 50 tickets remaining, so don't delay in securing your reservation to see these productions. Tickets are just R100 and include transport from Artscape to the mystery venue and back. You are advised to dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes. You will be in an enclosed space but there is no central heating so you may wish to bring a small blanket along. There will also be refreshments available for cash sale only at the venue. Bookings can be made by emailing CTO at info@capetownopera.co.za.

AUDITIONS

CTO will be holding auditions for ad hoc chorus singers, for participation in their staged productions, concerts and international tours. All experienced chorus singers are invited to audition on Friday 14 June and Saturday 15 June 2013 at the Artscape Theatre Centre, Foreshore, Cape Town. Candidates will be required to prepare 2 Operatic Arias. A piano accompanist will be provided. Please note that no audition will be granted without an appointment. To book an audition slot, contact Philisa Sibeko or Marvin Kernelle at CTO.

RAVE REVIEWS FROM CTO'S RECENT VISIT TO WIESBADEN

Rave reviews for Cape Town Opera's PORGY AND BESS were the order of the day at this year's Wiesbaden May Festival. Horst Dichanz of Opernnetz said: 'The equivalent of Catfish Row is Khayelitsha or Khayamandi, home sweet home, in the Western Cape, South Africa. The people who live here are not exactly on the sunny side of the street. The director, Christine Crouse takes Gershwin's classic, PORGY AND BESS, out of America and sets it in South Africa. The first township in the Western Cape was established in 1902 and Crouse finds many parallels with the life of black Americans in the USA in 1935 when Porgy and Bess had its New York premiere.' For the full article, and more, visit the Cape Town Opera Media Page.

SONGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME

To mark his 70th birthday, Angelo Gobbato, doyen of opera in South Africa (director, producer, singer and academic) will perform a special programme of personal and national reminiscences, singing a number of songs from the traditional and popular light music Italian repertoire which he learnt at his mother's and grandmother's knees as a child - a programme which will be as Italian as pizza, prosecco and panettone. Albert Horne, Chorus Master and Music assistant for CTO, will be the pianist and Music Director. Others participating will be David Ledbetter on guitar, Frank Mallows on percussion and Ingrid Salzmann on piano accordion. Gobbato will also be assisted by a vocal backing group consisting of six of the finest young voices registered at the UCT Opera School. The songs are going to be backed with video clips, designed by Gobbato to illustrate the Italian social milieu between 1920 and 1960 - the period covered by the songs - as well as English subtitles to highlight their sentimental, humorous or ironic poetic content. The concert is being held at19:30 on the 16th July at the Baxter Concert Hall, and tickets for the concert at R120 can be booked through Computicket. All proceeds are going towards an Opera Bursary for an advanced student at the UCT Opera School who excels in both interpretative and vocal skills.

UPCOMING PRODUCTIONS

Please note that bookings for Cape Town Opera's productions of DON GIOVANNI (August), MADAMA BUTTERFLY (September) and THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (November) have opened at Computicket.



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