Cape Town Opera will present Shorts: A Festival of Pocket Operas, a series of concise operas, at the Artscape theatre from Thursday April 11 to Sunday April 21.
The festival promises to be a celebration of operatic innovation and storytelling, and the line-up features the world premiere of Conrad Asman’s Trial by Media, a compelling new South African opera; Francis Poulenc’s La voix humaine (The Human Voice); and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comedic opera The Impresario (Der Schauspieldirektor), sung in English. Production and lighting design are by Allegra Bernacchioni and Kobus Rossouw, respectively.
Trial by Media by composer Conrad Asman delves into the complexities surrounding media perceptions of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. The opera stars Cape Town Opera House Soloist soprano Brittany Smith, fresh from her acclaimed role as Maria in The Sound of Music for which she won a Fleur du Cap theatre Award for the role, and Conroy Scott, playing the defence.
Van Wyk Venter, a member of the CTO Judith Neilson Young Artist programme, portrays Oscar Pistorius with Tylor Lamani as the prosecutor and Lusibalwethu Sesanti as the judge. It will be directed by Fred Abrahamse and Marcel Meyer who also oversees costume design.
The opera explores the profound effects of media coverage on public perception- the way people judge and assume according to what is posted on social media, particularly when events involve high profile individuals with very public personas both in real life and online. José Dias is the musical director.
Directed by Magdalene Minnaar, La voix humaine (The Human Voice) features Janelle Visagie as The Woman, a role that earned her the Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for Best Female Opera Singer in 2018. Based on Jean Cocteau’s 1950s play, this one-woman masterpiece by Poulenc portrays the harrowing effects of dementia, capturing the protagonist’s battle with the condition through fragmented memories and confusion. The work was initially produced for the IMPAC Film Festival, with video elements curated by Pluto Panoussis.
The Impresario (Der Schauspieldirektor), Mozart’s engaging comic opera, is presented in English and brings a light-hearted, comic touch to the festival. Composed for a musical competition at Emperor Joseph II’s request in 1786, the opera showcases Mozart’s comedic genius. Musical direction is by pianist and vocal coach Robin Phillips for whom this production marks his first in his home country South Africa in 24 years. The cast, directed by Elisabeth Manduell, includes guest soloist Alida Scheepers alongside Judith Neilson Young Artists Dineo Bokala, Mongezi Mosoaka and Lonwabo Mose, with actor Dean de Klerk who was recently seen in The Sound of Music, in a speaking role.
Tickets cost from R150 to R280 through Webtickets. La voix humaine has a parental guidance warning while no under 10s are allowed into Trial By Media..
