Cape Town Opera's PORGY AND BESS Returns To The UK In 2012

Following a short tour in 2009 Cape Town Opera returns to the UK in 2012 to bring its production of Porgy and Bess to Birmingham, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Canterbury and Southampton before arriving in London for a two week run at the London Coliseum.

In 2009, the Cape Town Opera’s first UK performances of Porgy and Bess met with public and critical acclaim. Now this company is returning to the UK for a seven week tour.

Relocated to the depression-ravaged townships of Soweto, Cape Town Opera have made this production of Porgy and Bess their very own, as the search for hope and happiness - amidst poverty and hardship - unfolds in a poignant tale of love and deprivation.

Porgy and Bess is one of the great icons of American music theatre, known around the world as ‘the peoples’ opera’. Written in 1935 and originally portraying the 1920s life of America’s Deep South, this compelling work contains some of the most stirring and ever-lasting songs including Summertime, I got plenty of nuttin’, It ain’t necessarily so, and I loves you Porgy.

Additionally, the company will perform the European premiere of Mandela Trilogy for two performances only at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Written by Michael Williams with music by Allan Stephenson, Mike Campbell, and Péter Louis van Dijk, it is a musical tribute to the life of Nelson Mandela which dramatises key periods of his life in different musical styles. Traditional Xhosa songs and jazz melodies are woven into a classical framework that follows Mandela from a young man in the Transkei, to revolutionary, to Robben Island prisoner and the final walk to freedom. The performances of Mandela Trilogy are produced in association with the Wales Millennium Centre and are supported by Donald Gordon.

Cape Town Opera (CTO) is the largest performing arts company in South Africa. Since its establishment in 1999, the company has been committed to the continued performance and development of opera, operetta and musical theatre in South Africa. CTO focuses on performance excellence, audience development and innovation, with the overall goal of increasing the relevance of opera as a performing art form in South Africa. In order to realise this goal, the company’s main objectives are maintaining a full and varied artistic programme of world-class standard, undertaking the training and development of young South African artists and opera practitioners and increasing access to, and appreciation of, opera among the general public in South Africa.

Through its Outreach and Education Programmes, Cape Town Opera is committed to bringing performances to a wide range of South Africans in and beyond the Cape Town area, instilling an appreciation for opera and reaching new audiences. Abridged opera performances are taken to schools locally and across the country, using musical theatre as a tool for social and historical education. Educators are invited to bring learners to final dress rehearsals free of charge, increasing access to CTO performances.

Cape Town Opera is the permanent home of 3 staff soloists and 23 professional members of the Voice of the Nation Ensemble: the core of the CTO Chorus, conducted by Albert Horne. In addition, the Voice of the Nation Studio consists of 7 young soloists on the brink of professional careers, refining their artistic skills on stage throughout the year. Every year CTO provides precious employment opportunities to hundreds of singers, dancers, conductors, directors, designers, choreographers, orchestral musicians and production technicians.

Cape Town Opera’s season of Porgy and Bess will be presented at the London Coliseum by Raymond Gubbay and Askonas Holt.

TOUR DATES – PORGY AND BESS

Wednesday 6 – Saturday 9 June 2012
Birmingham Hippodrome
www.birminghamhippodrome.com
Box Office 0844 338 5000

Friday 15 – Saturday 16 June
Edinburgh Festival Theatre
www.fctt.org.uk/festival_theatre
Box Office (0)131 529 6000

Saturday 23 – Sunday 24 June
Wales Millennium Centre
www.wmc.org.uk
Box Office 029 2063 6464

Wednesday 27 – Saturday 30 June
Canterbury Marlowe Theatre
www.marlowetheatre.com
Box Office 01227 787787

Wednesday 4 – Saturday 7 July
Southampton Mayflower
www.mayflower.org.uk
Box Office 02380 711811

Wednesday 11 July – Saturday 21 July
London Coliseum
www.eno.org
Box Office 0871 911 0200

MANDELA TRILOGY

Wednesday 20 June – Thursday 21 June
Wales Millennium Centre
www.wmc.org.uk
Box Office 029 2063 6464

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