Opera in Your Neighbourhood brings Cape Town Opera out into community halls across the city, providing both a perfect first taste for anyone new to opera, and a treat for those who have loved the art form for years. For anyone who has never heard operatic voices in the same room before, it is close to an ideal introduction: an hour of glorious singing, free of charge, close enough to see the performers breathe.

The programme began in 2022 with a single concert at the Rocklands Civic Centre in Mitchell’s Plain. It has since grown into a regular fixture of the company’s calendar, returning season after season to communities from Mitchells Plain to Fish Hoek.

The concerts are performed by Cape Town Opera’s award-winning Vocal Ensemble in partnership with the City of Cape Town. The repertoire is deliberately broad, ranging from opera favourites and musical theatre to contemporary songs and African spirituals, so that a single hour has something in it for a child, a grandparent and everyone in between.