Opera Society of South Africa
The Opera Society of South Africa (Operavereniging van Suid-Afrika).
Opera in the Transvaal was dominated by this organisation and the National Opera Association from 1956 until the formation of PACT in 1963.
Origins
Founded by conductor Anton Hartman and “a group of leading figures” in Johannesburg as an Afrikaans counterpart to the National Opera Association of South Africa on 29 October 1956.
Purpose
The aim of the society was “to strive for the development of opera and related art forms, especially in Afrikaans”, aiming to popularise opera among white Afrikaans-speakers. Operas were performed in the original language, as well as in Afrikaans. In this way, the Opera Society aimed to establish an “own opera art form” and give local singers opportunities to perform. At the time, there had been great interest from the Afrikaans public in performances in Afrikaans.
Merger
The National Opera Association of South Africa merged with the Opera Society of South Africa to become the South African Opera Federation in 1958.
Productions
The Opera Society committed to producing at least one opera in Afrikaans each year. Among the translated works were Puccini’s La bohème and Madama Butterfly, Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte and Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Smetana’s The Bartered Bride.
Sources
Percy Tucker, 1997
Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.
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