SHORTS! OPERA FESTIVAL
The Wave Theatre, 44 Long Street, Cape Town | 7 – 16 March 2025
Cape Town Opera presents the second edition of Shorts: A Festival of Short Operas, featuring four 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 libretto.
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.
Production design by Allegra Bernacchioni, video design by Kirsti Cumming, lighting design by Luke Ellenbogen, musical direction by Jan Hugo, Jeremy Silver, and José Dias, and direction by Jackï Job, Fred Abrahamse, Marcel Meyer, Christine Crouse, and Victoria Stevens, round out this exceptional festival.
2025 Shorts! line-up:
Friday 7 March
7pm Bluebeard’s Castle
Saturday 8 March
11am Atlas of Remote Islands
2pm Schumann & Janáçek Unbound
5pm Triptych
Sunday 9 March
11am Cancelled – A Pocket Magic Flute (Film screening)
2pm Cancelled – Triptych
5pm Bluebeard’s Castle
Tuesday 11 March
11am Atlas of Remote Islands
7pm Schumann & Janáçek Unbound (UCT Opera)
Wednesday 12 March
11am Schumann & Janáçek Unbound (UCT Opera)
7pm Triptych
Thursday 13 March
11am Hopscotch (Film screening)
7pm Triptych
Friday 14 March
7pm Atlas of Remote Islands
Saturday 15 March
11am Staging Stories: Writing for Opera
2pm Sweet Land (Film screening)
5pm Bluebeard’s Castle
16 Sunday 16 March
11am Schumann & Janáçek Unbound (UCT Opera)
2pm Staging Stories: Opera in Development: The Summoning – Workshop
5pm Bluebeard’s Castle
Triptych: Women at War
Directed by Fred Abrahamse and Marcel Meyer, 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.
Bluebeard’s Castle
Béla Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle, directed by Berlin-based Victoria Stevens, is the story of Judith, who leaves behind her peaceful life to become the bride of Duke Bluebeard. Stepping into his dark, enigmatic castle—a place shrouded in ominous rumours that mirror its mysterious owner – Judith is determined to uncover his secrets.
Schumann & Janáçek Unbound
Opera UCT presents a double bill of Schumann and Janáček’s Frauenliebe und Leben and The Diary of One Who Vanished, directed by Christine Crouse with musical direction by Jeremy Silver. Frauenliebe und Leben, featuring Molly Dzangare, is a song cycle of eight German songs presenting an evolving perspective on love and life, all written for the female voice with piano accompaniment; and The Diary of One Who Vanished, featuring Vuyisa Xipu and Nica Reinke, is both a pocket-opera and a song-cycle and tells the story of a naive young farmer’s son who falls desperately in love with a wild gypsy girl.
Atlas of Remote Islands
Atlas of Remote Islands promises to transport audiences across 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. Directed by Jackï Job, this opera features Cape Town Opera’s Judith Neilson Young Artists, as well as Marcelle Steinmetz, with musical direction by Jan Hugo and Nathan Lewis at the piano.
Staging Stories: Workshop Performance: The Summoning – Jonathan Blair
Join us for a workshop performance of extracts from The Summoning, a new opera that recounts the final evening in the life of famed inventor Nikola Tesla. Featuring Clara Hugo, Conroy Scott, Lukhanyo Moyake and Alida Scheepers, the performance will be followed by a discussion with composer Jonathan Blair, musical director Jan Hugo and librettists Jaco Griessel and Paul Griffiths.
Staging Stories: Writing for Opera
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.
Film Screenings
There will also be 3 screenings of award-winning digital operas during the festival, all under an hour long: A Pocket Magic Flute by Pocket Opera (San Francisco); and, perfect for families with small children, Sweet Land by The Industry in Los Angeles, and Hopscotch: The Making Of , also by The Industry.
Film 1: A Pocket Magic Flute, 9 Mar 2025 11:00
Film 2: Hopscotch: The Making Of (Documentary), 13 Mar 2025 11:00
Film 3: Sweetland: Feast, 16 MAr 2026 14:00