Le Nozze di Figaro
Director: Magdalene Minnaar. Conductor: Schalk van der Merwe. Movement Director: Fiona du Plooy. Cast: Conroy Scott, Brittany Smith, William Berger, Siphamandla Moyake, Megan Kahts, Members of Cape Town Opera Chorus and the Cape Town Pops Orchestra. Photographs: Kim Stevens. Artscape. Not for nothing is Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro a perennial favourite of the operatic repertoire. Replete with enchanting arias and brimming with mischief, it sweeps its audience along at a heady pace; from the chuckle of woodwinds in the overture to the joyous, wildly improbable finale, its lyrical grace cloaks both ridiculous farce and moments of poignancy. Seldom is audience credulity so willingly suspended. Read more Reviews Below: https://web.facebook.com/mapmyway
L ‘elisir d’ Amore
Director Magdalene Minnaar Musical Director Jose Dias Movement Direction and Choreography Fiona du Plooy Reviews Below: Movement is important in L’elisir, as its crowd scenes involve dancing and festivity, and here Fiona du Plooy’s contribution as movement director proves invaluable in the limited space of a petite venue like TOB read more “FIONA du Plooy as Movement director tempers eachbmove and gesture…” Favolosa is the Italian word for ‘fantastic’ and Cape Town Opera’s production of Gaetano Donizetti’s madcap comedic opera, L’elisir d’amore, is fabulous. The production has been on tour, throughout regions in South Africa. The last stop is in Cape Town, on stage at Theatre On The Bay. It is on tonight – October 15 and tomorrow- October 16 and then that’s it. Try and get tickets – it is a wow. If not, get to a CTO production, soon. read more
1-in–3 Cape Town Opera
Director Christine Nolte Movement Direction Fiona du Plooy One in Three, which takes its name from the proportion of women and girls who experience abuse in South Africa, is co-directed by Magdalene Minnaar and Christine Crouse, with musical accompaniment by pianist Francois Botha, flautist Solomon Mannel and bassoonist Erika Weber. Movement direction is by Fiona du Plooy, costume design by Maritha Visagie, musical direction by Marvin Kernelle, lighting design by Faheem Bardien and artworks by craftivist Nell-Louise Pollock. read more
Tosca – Cape Town Opera
Director by Magdalene Minnaar Movement direction and Choreography Fiona du Plooy Reviews Below: “Elegantly choregraphed by Fiona du Plooy into a tableau of eye -watering beauty…” Cape Town Opera’s majestic revival of Grand Opera, generated by a marriage of spectacle, drama and vocal proficiency, offers its audiences over two hours of spellbinding entertainment; the time passes as swiftly as a summer night in Rome. read more Movement director Fiona du Plooy imbues each protagonist with motion and gesture as she choreograpohs each scene. Stunning Tosca– ravishing production – with exceptional performances (voice and theatrical) by Cape Town Opera soloists, Cape Town Opera Chorus (directed by Marvin Kernelle) and children’s choir, (amazing to see the youngsters singing). Bravo to Cape Town Opera and its artistic director Magdalene Minnaar, who is in the director’s seat for this magnificent production. Bravo to the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Björn Bantock) for an exquisite rendition of the delicious Puccini score. I loved this production. There are only four performances in Cape Town. This run, follows a widely successful run in Johannesburg. Do not miss. read more Calling Puccini’s TOSCA simply powerful, and it is, feels like a disservice to the nuances that play within that description. Cape Town Opera’s staging of TOSCA at the Artscape Opera House is nothing short of spectacular. This favourite of Puccini, even though wrought with tragedy, still has the clout to captivate the mind and reverberate through the soul. read more I am not much of an opera-fundi but I’ll gladly go and see one when I can. Last night’s local opening of Tosca made me feel so lucky, and special, and delighted, and I have spent the day in a little bit of an altered state just thinking about it. read more
2024 Orpheus McAdoo
Written and Directed by David Kramer Resident Director and Movement director Fiona du Plooy Reviews Below: I was thrilled to attend a preview of Orpheus McAdoo by David Kramer at Artscape. I was unable to attend the opening, so I was at the preview. The musical is being presented by Cape Town Opera. The season runs until November 4, 2024. The preview which I attended was like an opening night, with the audience bursting into applause after each scene, followed by a rapturous standing ovation. Love, love, loved this big musical which is inspired by the true story of Orpheus McAdoo, an African-American who established a concert company, The Virginia Jubilee Singers. In 1890, on tour in Europe, the company hit a rough financial patch. While in Glasgow, they were invited to Cape Town by Lady Loch, wife of Henry Loch, the High Commissioner to the Cape Colony. So off they went to Africa. Stirring songs by David Kramer conjure up the awe and joy they felt about coming to Africa. The company was an audience fave for two years but increasingly faced competition from a minstrel show in a tent. The minstrels fed into what audiences perceived to be Black theatre – jolly blackface. Orpheus set the bar with his company – always seeking to achieve choral excellence and dignity and not pander to minstrel fare. The company then toured Australia (a very successful tour) and then returned in 1895 to Cape Town, on the cusp of a new century. Hoping to increase audience attendance, Orpheus decided to shake up the company’s repertoire and introduce opera, with his wife Mattie Allen singing. The critics were not impressed by Black people singing opera. Orpheus and Mattie faced artistic challenges, intersecting with race and perceptions by the largely white purveyors of their concerts who hankered for minstrel entertainment. Read more