The African Passion
The African Passion is a gospel opera-musical devised by Themi Venturas with original music by Phelelani Mnomiya, Anthony Govender and the Young Mbazo (Babuyile Shabalala, Jabulani Mthembu, Siphamandla Shabalala).
Original text
The African Passion is an Easter-themed choral production. It recounts the story of the Passion of Christ, told through an eclectic mix of music stretching from Bach to Haydn, from gospel to Andrew Lloyd-Webber, from spirituals to African traditional. The music is linked by a narration, mixing biblical texts from the Gospel according to St John with more modern reflections.
Performance history in South Africa
2013: The production toured to major South African cities over the Easter period, beginning in Durban and moving respectively to Port Elizabeth (PE Opera House: March 21–24); Cape Town (Baxter Main Theatre: March 28-31); Soweto (Soweto Theatre: April 5–7); Johannesburg (Jo’burg Theatre: April 11–14), Mafikeng (Mmabatho Civic Centre: April 18–21) and then back to Durban. It was produced by Cataline UnLtd and directed by Themi Venturas. The cast comprised Grant Jacobs (Simon Peter), Blessing Xaba (Caiaphas), Aubrey Lodewyk (Annas), Bonakele Edward Lungu (Eleazar), Faca Kulu (Jesus), Natalia da Rocha (Mary, the mother), Sharon Dee (Mary Magdalene), Simo Dlamini (Thomas), Jabulani Mthembu (John), Nkosinathi Mnqayi (Judas), Dewald von Solms (Pontius Pilate), Caitlin Kilburn/Siphindile Myeni (Pilate’s wife), and Babuyile Shabalala (Herod).
2019: Presented by Cape Town Opera in Holland (1st of April with performances up until 20 April in Nieuwegijn, Utrecht, Maassluis, Breda, Haarlem, Lelystad, Rotterdam, Ijmuiden, Meppel, Gouda, Tiel, Waalwijk, Drachten, Enschede and Den Haag. Directed by Gina Schmukler with designs by Niall Griffin.
Sources
https://capetownopera.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/AR-Version-10.pdf
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