Cape Town Opera’s Brings FOREST FRIENDS to Neighborhood Libraries

Cape Town Opera’s Opera Blocks, a series of irresistible short performances aimed at very young audiences, is back by popular demand and coming to a library near you this July 2025. The free concerts will be presented in partnership with the Judith Neilson Foundation and the City of Cape Town.  

Opera Blocks Forest Friends is a wonderfully immersive performance that invites children to wander and engage with props and set pieces in a captivating forest winter wonderland. Expect to see a sly fox slipping through the bookshelf, a snail slowly turning the pages of his favourite story, and many more magical moments.

This new  production is directed by Elizma Badenhorst and designed to entertain little ones between the ages of 0 and 5 years of age. The forty-minute show, a stimulating experience for young minds, is enhanced with  charming choreography, mesmerising visual effects and gentle music. Age-appropriate songs will be performed by outstanding Cape Town Opera singers - some of whom were recently seen in CTO’s sellout production of Aida - including Danielle Speckman (Zuri the Butterfly), Ntombizodwa Nkiso (Mimi the Mouse), Ernestine Stuurman (Nia the Deer), Sasha Damons (Bela the Bunny), and Judith Neilson Young Artists Sisikelelwe Mngenela (Luna the Owl) and Khayakazi Mdalala (Tilly the Squirrel). Among the songs sung will be the Evening Prayer from Hansel und Gretel, much-loved tunes from The Nutcracker such as the Waltz of the Flowers and the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. 

Exposing young minds to classical music has been proven to have an incredibly positive effect on their development and creativity and Opera Blocks Forest Friends brings music, song and play together in new, accessible and exciting ways.   

Opera Blocks Forest Friends takes place on 1 July at the Athlone Library at 13h00; on  2 July at the Edgemead Library at 10h00 and 14h00; on 3 July at the Cape Town Central Library at 12h00 and 14h00; on 4 July at the Hout Bay Library at 14h00, and on 5 July at the Langa Library at 11h00. 

Entry is free to all, but tickets do need to be booked in advance through Webtickets.  https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1569769803