2025 SEASON PERFORMANCE SYNOPSES
Shorts: A Festival of Pocket Operas
The Wave Theatre, 44 Long Street, Cape Town | 7 – 16 March 2025
Cape Town Opera presents the second edition of Shorts: A Festival of Pocket Operas, featuring five captivating, bite-sized operas, each under an hour in length, including two collaborations with Opera UCT, plus two special workshops—one showcasing a new opera and the other introducing newly written South African libretti.
Set in the Wave Theatre in the city centre, the festival promises audiences a refreshing experience with music that’s rarely, if ever, been heard in South Africa. Located near the trendy restaurants and bars of Bree Street, it’s the perfect spot for a full night out before or after the show.
Enjoy performances by Cape Town favourites William Berger and Siphamandla Moyake, joined by Cape Town Opera House Soloists and Young Artists, and the future stars from Opera UCT.
Musical direction by Jan Hugo, Jeremy Silver, José Dias and Nathan Lewis, along with visionary direction from Jackï Job, Fred Abrahamse, Marcel Meyer, Christine Crouse and Victoria Stevens, rounds out this exceptional festival.
Individual Festival Titles
Triptych: Women at War
8 – 16 March 2025
Triptych brings together three distinct works into a powerful hour of operatic brilliance, where each piece, or ‘panel,’ engages in a thought-provoking dialogue with the others. This trio of works is bound by the evocative theme of women in relation to war—sometimes literal, sometimes metaphorical. Each panel presents a dramatic and musical tour-de-force for the three remarkable sopranos bringing them to life.
King Harald’s Saga – Judith Weir
Based on the historical event of the Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066, King Harald’s Saga chronicles the defeat of King Harald at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Scored for solo soprano across three acts, the soprano performs eight distinct roles, including the entire Norwegian army, capturing the intensity and scale of this pivotal moment in history.
A Letter from Sullivan Ballou – John Kander
Renowned composer John Kander, famed for musicals like Cabaret and Chicago, composed A Letter from Sullivan Ballou in 1994 for American soprano Renée Fleming. The piece is set to the poignant letter written by Major Sullivan Ballou to his wife, Sarah, in 1861, just before he was killed in the First Battle of Bull Run. Kander’s setting brings to life the profound emotional weight of Ballou’s final words.
Erwartung – Arnold Schoenberg
In Erwartung, an unnamed Woman ventures through a dark forest under the light of the moon, searching desperately for her lover. As she stumbles further into the unknown, the line between reality and madness blurs. The harrowing journey reaches a devastating climax when she discovers his lifeless body. In a final expression of grief, she drifts away, leaving the story unresolved, hauntingly suspended in the rawness of her emotional turmoil.
Bluebeard’s Castle, Béla Bartók
7 – 15 March 2025
Judith leaves behind her peaceful life to become the bride of Bluebeard, stepping into his dark, enigmatic castle—a place shrouded in ominous rumours that mirror its mysterious owner. Driven by love and a desire to brighten Bluebeard’s shadowed world, Judith is determined to uncover his secrets. The castle holds seven locked rooms, and despite Bluebeard’s reluctance, Judith insists on opening each door. With every door, the mystery intensifies, drawing her deeper into a darkness from which there may be no escape. At the final door, her fate is irrevocably sealed.
Frauenliebe und Leben, Robert Schumann
8 – 16 March 2025
A song cycle of eight songs, all of them written for the female voice with piano accompaniment, presents an evolving perspective on love and life. The first song reveals a young woman in the first flush of love. As the songs progress, she gives her whole heart and revels in the feelings of mature love. The last song is one of grief and pain, reflecting on the death of the beloved.
The Diary of One Who Disappeared, Leoš Janáček
8 – 16 March 2025
At once a pocket-opera and a song-cycle, the work tells the story of a naive young farmer’s son who falls desperately in love with a wild gypsy girl. Will he abandon his family, his community and his whole way of life to satisfy his fiery passions?
Atlas of Remote Islands, Nathan Hall
8 & 14 March 2025
Atlas of Remote Islands is a one-act opera inspired by Judith Schalansky’s 2009 non-fiction book and adapted by Alan Olejniczak. Through haunting, poetic descriptions, it explores real islands around the world—some uncharted, some lost and rediscovered, some uninhabited, and some purely scientific. With a rapidly shifting cast of characters, Atlas transports audiences across these remote landscapes, weaving a tale of longing, curiosity and wanderlust. It reminds us that while the destinations may not always meet our expectations, the true magic is in what lies beyond.
Staging Stories: The Summoning (Excerpts), Jonathan Blair
15 March 2025
A Cape Town Opera once-off workshop performance, followed by a discussion with the creative team.
The Summoning is a two-act opera that recounts the final evening in the life of famed inventor Nikola Tesla. Set in Tesla’s notorious New Yorker Hotel, in room 3327, the opera unfolds around a haunting last supper, where Tesla urgently entrusts two guests with the secrets that shaped the modern world and commissions them to complete his unfinished work.
With only hours left after a recent accident, Tesla invites a New York journalist who has followed his career with fervent admiration, and a charismatic young inventor—a mirror image of Tesla himself, whose identity grows increasingly complex and mysterious as the night wears on. Tesla, seemingly aware of hidden truths, waits for the perfect moment to reveal them.
As a failed murder attempt disrupts the evening’s ritual, the atmosphere shifts from excitement to tension. Racing against time, Tesla shares fragments of his haunting past and pleads with his guests to consider the ethical implications of a world soon to be transformed by technology. As his health falters, memories flood his mind, blurring the lines between guest and hostage, and leaving his legacy in the balance.
Join us for a concert performance of this new opera, featuring Clara Hugo, Conroy Scott, Lukhanyo Moyake and Alida Scheepers. Following the performance, engage in a discussion with composer Jonathan Blair, musical director Jan Hugo and librettist Jaco Griessel.
Staging Stories: Writing for Opera
16 March 2025
Join us for a reading of new South African libretti, showcasing the work of six emerging writers who have completed an intensive four-month series of opera-writing workshops, led by acclaimed librettists Stephanie Fleischmann and Alan Olejniczak. Each writer has created a ten-minute opera script, to be presented in a public forum for the first time. This event also offers local composers a unique opportunity to connect with potential collaborators. After the showcase, audience members are invited to engage with the writers and discuss their work.
Requiem, Gabriel Fauré
Toringkerk, Paarl | 19 April 2025
Join us on Easter Saturday for this classic piece featuring Sisikelelwe Mngenela (soprano) and Conroy Scott (baritone), the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cape Town Opera Chorus, Cape Town Opera Children’s Chorus and Symphony Choir of Cape Town. Conducted by Gary Matthewman in this iconic venue.
Aida, Giuseppe Verdi
Artscape Opera House | 23 -31 May 2025
Cape Town Opera brings Verdi’s powerful Aida to life with an all-African cast, presenting a futuristic reimagining of this beloved opera.
Set against a backdrop of war, forbidden love and cultural conflict, this timeless opera is brought into an era of African futurism. The story follows Aida, an enslaved Ethiopian princess, and Radamès, an Egyptian military commander, as they navigate love amidst loyalty, betrayal and the clash between two civilisations. This innovative production redefines grand opera within an African context. Under Minnaar’s direction, Aida’s 153-year-old story is told in a unique, indigenous and thoughtful way. Using extensive video and animation alongside vibrant costumes, this futuristic world is vividly brought to life with the help of renowned South African choreographer Gregory Maqoma. By manipulating light, shadow and form, the set unfolds in layers, creating a dynamic space that evolves with the story. The design is both minimalistic and monumental, combining geometric forms with futuristic lighting to evoke grandeur and mystery. The ultimate aim is for this unique interpretation to feel unexpected yet deeply resonant, leaving the audience captivated by this new vision of the opera.
This production will feature a chorus of 56 singers and dancers, with U.S.-based conductor Kamal Khan leading the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. It will be, without question, a cultural highlight for South Africa in 2025.
The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Gioachino Rossini
Theatre on the Bay | 5 – 17 August 2025
The intimacy of Pieter Toerien’s Theatre on the Bay brings audiences right into the heart of Cape Town Opera’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, a fully staged production performed with piano. Follow the witty barber Figaro as he uses his charm and cunning to unite two young lovers in this comic opera full of infectious energy. Making his Cape Town Opera debut, Britain’s Got Talent finalist and former Cape Town Opera Young Artist Innocent Masuku joins the cast, fresh from wowing audiences and judges alike. Under the direction of Sylvaine Strike, this production promises to capture all the humour and spirit that make The Barber of Seville a timeless favourite. Don’t miss the chance to experience these delightful onstage antics up close in this unforgettable live performance!
The Magic Flute, W. A. Mozart
Sea Point Civic Centre | 24 – 25 October 2025
Cape Town Opera is excited to bring a vibrant, abridged production of The Magic Flute to primary and high schools across the Cape Metro. This beloved opera, reimagined for young audiences, will captivate students with its enchanting melodies, powerful storytelling and dynamic cast of talented Cape Town Opera performers.
The initiative aims to make opera more accessible to learners, offering a unique cultural experience that blends music, drama and education. By engaging schools, Cape Town Opera is fostering a love for opera among the next generation of South Africans.
Orpheus McAdoo, David Kramer
Artscape Theatre | 21 – 31 October 2025
Back by Popular Demand – A True Story Brought to Life!
Orpheus McAdoo is a ground-breaking South African musical…This epic scale musical would run for months On Broadway and the West End. Don’t miss.
Robyn Cohen, The Cape Robyn
David Kramer’s Orpheus McAdoo returns to the stage in 2025, sharing the remarkable true story of the Virginia Jubilee Concert Company, whose performances in the 1890s introduced South Africa to the soul-stirring sound of jubilee singing.
Blending traditional spirituals with early American folk, ragtime, minstrel tunes and South African folk music, this production captures the spirit of a transformative era in music history. With its intricate storytelling and vibrant performances, Orpheus McAdoo is a celebration of the connections forged through music and culture.
Don’t miss your chance to see this acclaimed production at Artscape!