Opera - Revision history

Darryl: /* Early years of the Union of South Africa */

2025-06-19T11:34:27Z

Early years of the Union of South Africa

Darryl: /* Developing new voices */

2025-06-17T15:46:55Z

Developing new voices

Darryl: /* Developing new voices */

2025-06-17T15:43:19Z

Developing new voices

Darryl: /* 1962-1993 */

2025-06-17T15:42:51Z

1962-1993

Darryl: /* The first Afrikaans opera */

2025-06-12T15:17:43Z

The first Afrikaans opera

Darryl: /* Independent producers of opera */

2025-06-10T09:22:11Z

Independent producers of opera

Darryl: /* The early 19th Century */

2025-06-06T13:51:47Z

The early 19th Century

Darryl: /* The early 19th Century */

2025-06-06T13:50:15Z

The early 19th Century

Darryl: /* The early 19th Century */

2025-06-06T13:49:56Z

The early 19th Century

Darryl: /* Luscombe Searelle */

2025-06-06T12:24:08Z

Luscombe Searelle

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 However, most travelling companies stopped coming to the Cape in the early twentieth century. The [[John Ridding Opera Company]] and the [[Gonzalez Italian Opera Company]] were two of the last to visit South Africa.
-Grand opera became increasingly popular in the 1930s, mainly through the intercession of the [[African Consolidated Theatres]], Ltd., and the [[African Broadcasting Company]] or [[SABC]], as it became known after August 1936.
+Grand opera became increasingly popular in the 1930s, mainly through the intercession of the [[African Consolidated Theatres]], Ltd., and the [[African Broadcasting Company]] or [[South African Broadcasting Corporation]] as it became known after August 1936, through its broadcasts of opera on radio.
 ===The [[South African College of Music]] ([[SACM]]) ===

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 ===Developing new voices===
-In 1980, no singers of colour were to be found on South Africa’s opera stages. [[James Conrad]] from [[NAPAC]] in Durban was the first person at any of the PACs to train and employ black opera singers. Conrad and his wife, [[Rosely Hunt]], did so from the early 1980s onwards. In Cape Town, [[Angelo Gobbato]], together with the then chorus master [[Vetta Wise]] and composer [[Michael Williams]], developed [[CAPAB]]’s choral programmes through which they gained access to black singers from 1988 onwards.
+[[James Conrad]] from [[NAPAC]] in Durban was the first person at any of the [[PAC]]s to train and employ black opera singers. Conrad and his wife, [[Rosely Hunt]], did so from the early 1980s onwards. In Cape Town, [[Angelo Gobbato]], together with the then chorus master [[Vetta Wise]] and composer [[Michael Williams]], developed [[CAPAB]]’s choral programmes through which they gained access to black singers from 1988 onwards.
 ===The first opera performed in isiZulu===

@@ Line 154: / Line 154: @@
 ===Developing new voices===
-In 1980, no singers of colour were to be found on South Africa’s opera stages. [[James Conrad]] from [[NAPAC]] in Durban was the first person at any of the PACs to train and employ black opera singers. Conrad and his wife, [[Rosely Hunt]], did so from the early 1980s onwards. In Cape Town, Angelo Gobbato, together with the then chorus master [[Vetta Wise]] and composer [[Michael Williams]], developed [[CAPAB]]’s choral programmes through which they gained access to black singers from 1988 onwards.
+In 1980, no singers of colour were to be found on South Africa’s opera stages. [[James Conrad]] from [[NAPAC]] in Durban was the first person at any of the PACs to train and employ black opera singers. Conrad and his wife, [[Rosely Hunt]], did so from the early 1980s onwards. In Cape Town, [[Angelo Gobbato]], together with the then chorus master [[Vetta Wise]] and composer [[Michael Williams]], developed [[CAPAB]]’s choral programmes through which they gained access to black singers from 1988 onwards.
 ===The first opera performed in isiZulu===

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:42, 17 June 2025
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	The [[Durban Opera Group]] was formed in 1968 under the direction of [[Olive Peel]]. This group staged two productions annually in a number of towns in Natal. Another independent opera company, the [[Roodepoort City Opera Company]] (later known as [[Pro Musica Productions]]) under the guidance of [[Weiss Doubell]], also produced opera for a number of years from 1981 at the [[Roodepoort Civic Theatre]].		The [[Durban Opera Group]] was formed in 1968 under the direction of [[Olive Peel]]. This group staged two productions annually in a number of towns in Natal. Another independent opera company, the [[Roodepoort City Opera Company]] (later known as [[Pro Musica Productions]]) under the guidance of [[Weiss Doubell]], also produced opera for a number of years from 1981 at the [[Roodepoort Civic Theatre]].
		+
		+	===Developing new voices===
		+
		+	In 1980, no singers of colour were to be found on South Africa’s opera stages. [[James Conrad]] from [[NAPAC]] in Durban was the first person at any of the PACs to train and employ black opera singers. Conrad and his wife, [[Rosely Hunt]], did so from the early 1980s onwards. In Cape Town, Angelo Gobbato, together with the then chorus master [[Vetta Wise]] and composer [[Michael Williams]], developed [[CAPAB]]’s choral programmes through which they gained access to black singers from 1988 onwards.

	===The first opera performed in isiZulu===		===The first opera performed in isiZulu===

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 * [[PACOFS Opera]]
-===The first Afrikaans opera===
+===The first Afrikaans operas===
-Conductor [[Anton Hartman]] was instrumental in advancing the work of South African composers through the [[Opera Society of South Africa]], especially the presentation of opera in Afrikaans. The first full-length Afrikaans opera is said to be ''[[Klutaimnestra]]'' by [[Cromwell Everson]] (1925–1991), staged in 1967. The opera celebrates Afrikaner identity, culture and language. Just three years earlier, two Italian immigrants living in South Africa, Dr [[Oreste Arioli]] and Dr [[Luigi Bezzio]], composed a four act Italian opera, ''[[Il grande viaggio]]'' based on the Great Trek.  The first production of the opera in Afrikaans was planned for Republic Day (31 May), 1965, though it appears the opera was never performed.
+Conductor [[Anton Hartman]] was instrumental in advancing the work of South African composers through the [[Opera Society of South Africa]], especially the presentation of opera in Afrikaans. In 1956, the Dutch composer, [[Henk Badings]], was commissioned by the [[South African Broadcasting Corporation]] ([[SABC]]) to compose and opera on a libretto by South African poet [[N.P. van Wyk Louw]], ''[[Asterion]]''. This radio opera was premiered on 11 April 1958. The first full-length Afrikaans opera is said to be ''[[Klutaimnestra]]'' by [[Cromwell Everson]] (1925–1991), staged in 1967. The opera celebrates Afrikaner identity, culture and language. Just three years earlier, two Italian immigrants living in South Africa, Dr [[Oreste Arioli]] and Dr [[Luigi Bezzio]], composed a four act Italian opera, ''[[Il grande viaggio]]'' based on the Great Trek.  The first production of the opera in Afrikaans was planned for Republic Day (31 May), 1965, though it appears the opera was never performed.
 ===Independent producers of opera===

@@ Line 150: / Line 150: @@
 ===Independent producers of opera===
-An independent opera company, the [[Roodepoort City Opera Company]] (later known as [[Pro Musica Productions]]) under the guidance of [[Weiss Doubell]], also produced opera for a number of years from 1981 at the [[Roodepoort Civic Theatre]].
+The [[Durban Opera Group]] was formed in 1968 under the direction of [[Olive Peel]]. This group staged two productions annually in a number of towns in Natal. Another independent opera company, the [[Roodepoort City Opera Company]] (later known as [[Pro Musica Productions]]) under the guidance of [[Weiss Doubell]], also produced opera for a number of years from 1981 at the [[Roodepoort Civic Theatre]].
 ===The first opera performed in isiZulu===

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 The first artists to visit the Cape around 1803 to 1806 were French opera companies who were on their way to Mauritius, often performing under the most primitive conditions in makeshift venues, largely for the entertainment of the officers and their wives. Mostly ''opéras-comiques'' were performed in the original French, as had been the fashion then, and these French companies had introduced new French operas to Cape audiences. After the occupation of Mauritius and the Cape by Britain in 1806, visits by French groups became less frequent. The last French company to visit the Cape was in 1833. The earliest operas performed in Cape Town included works by Francois Joseph Gossec (''[[Toinon et Toinette]]'', 1803), André Grétry (''[[Le Tableau Parlant]]'', 1803), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (''[[Pygmalion]]'', 1803 and 1806), Dibdin (''[[The Padlock]]'', 1808), French composer Etienne-Nicolas Méhul (''[[Une Folie]]'', 1809) and Storace (''[[No Song, No Supper]]'', 1815).
 The first complete local production of a serious opera in the Cape is said to be Carl Maria von Weber's ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' in 1831. It was performed in the [[African Theatre]] by the local theatre group ‘[[All the World's a Stage]]’.
 From the mid-nineteenth century, an increasing number of travelling companies from England performed in the Cape, mostly performing comic operas and theatre works in English and French by contemporary composers of the time.

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 The first artists to visit the Cape around 1803 to 1806 were French opera companies who were on their way to Mauritius, often performing under the most primitive conditions in makeshift venues, largely for the entertainment of the officers and their wives. Mostly ''opéras-comiques'' were performed in the original French, as had been the fashion then, and these French companies had introduced new French operas to Cape audiences. After the occupation of Mauritius and the Cape by Britain in 1806, visits by French groups became less frequent. The last French company to visit the Cape was in 1833. The earliest operas performed in Cape Town included works by Francois Joseph Gossec (''[[Toinon et Toinette]]'', 1803), André Grétry (''[[Le Tableau Parlant]]'', 1803), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (''[[Pygmalion]]'', 1803 and 1806), Dibdin (''[[The Padlock]]'', 1808), French composer Etienne-Nicolas Méhul (''[[Une Folie]]'', 1809) and Storace (''[[No Song, No Supper]]'', 1815).
-The first complete local production of a serious opera in the Cape is said to be Carl Maria von Weber's ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' in 1831. It was performed in the [[African Theatre]] by the local theatre group ‘[[All the World’s a Stage]]’.
+The first complete local production of a serious opera in the Cape is said to be Carl Maria von Weber's ''[[Der Freischütz]]'' in 1831. It was performed in the [[African Theatre]] by the local theatre group ‘[[All the World's a Stage]]’.
 The earliest opera of sorts believed to have been composed at the Cape is ''[[Sapho]]'', a performance "mixed with dialogue, song and dance" in three acts in French by [[C.E. Boniface]] with music by [[Frederick Carl Lemming]], performed in the [[African Theatre]] in 1815.

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 ===[[Luscombe Searelle]]===
-Certainly there was little or no formal strucure to opera until the arrival in Cape Town in 1887 of [[Luscombe Searelle]] and his [[Australian Opera Company]]. The company had a record season a 162 consecutive performances over a period of six months.  After touring the Eastern Cape, Kimberley, Durban and Pietermaritzburg, Searelle and his company arrived in Johannesburg and erected their own theatre, the "[[Theatre Royal]]" at the corner of Eloff and Commissioner Streets.  A series of successful seasons followed in quick succession and the new taste for opera which Searelle brought led to the formation of a number of revival opera companies. His final South African season was held in Durban in 1899 after which, financially embarrassed as a result of competition and failed productions he returned to England.  Yet, his pioneering spirit had firmly established opera in South Africa. During his time in South Africa, Searelle also composed new operas and several of these were presented in Durban in 1899, including ''[[The Black Rover]]'', ''[[Kisses of Circe]]'' and ''[[Evalina]]''.
+Certainly there was little or no formal strucure to opera until the arrival in Cape Town in 1887 of [[Luscombe Searelle]] and his [[Australian Opera Company]]. The company had a record season a 162 consecutive performances over a period of six months.  After touring the Eastern Cape, Kimberley, Durban and Pietermaritzburg, Searelle and his company arrived in Johannesburg in 1889 and erected their own theatre, the "[[Theatre Royal]]" at the corner of Eloff and Commissioner Streets.  A series of successful seasons followed in quick succession and the new taste for opera which Searelle brought led to the formation of a number of revival opera companies. His final South African season was held in Durban in 1899 after which, financially embarrassed as a result of competition and failed productions he returned to England.  Yet, his pioneering spirit had firmly established opera in South Africa. During his time in South Africa, Searelle also composed new operas and several of these were presented in Durban in 1899, including ''[[The Black Rover]]'', ''[[Kisses of Circe]]'' and ''[[Evalina]]''.
 ===The Opera House in Cape Town===