Valley Song - Revision history

Satj: /* Sources */

2026-05-03T09:46:00Z

Sources

Temple at 14:53, 5 March 2026

2026-03-05T14:53:58Z

Temple: /* Return to */

2026-03-05T14:43:06Z

Return to

Temple: /* Sources */

2026-03-05T14:42:32Z

Sources

Temple at 14:37, 5 March 2026

2026-03-05T14:37:27Z

Temple: /* The original text */

2026-02-16T07:25:41Z

The original text

Temple: /* Sources */

2026-02-16T07:20:51Z

Sources

Darryl at 13:36, 9 December 2025

2025-12-09T13:36:41Z

Darryl: /* Performance history of the opera in South Africa */

2025-03-01T12:09:52Z

Performance history of the opera in South Africa

Darryl: /* Sources */

2025-02-26T17:29:06Z

Sources

← Older revision		Revision as of 09:46, 3 May 2026
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	== Sources ==		== Sources ==
		+
		+	[[Athol Fugard]]. 1996. ''[[My Life & Valley Song. Two Plays]]''. Johannesburg: [[Wits University Press]].

	Review of ''[[Valley Song]]'' production at the [[National Arts Festival]], [[Beeld]], 12 August 1995.		Review of ''[[Valley Song]]'' production at the [[National Arts Festival]], [[Beeld]], 12 August 1995.

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-''[[Valley Song]]'' can refer to a 1995 drama by [[Athol Fugard]] (1932-2025) or to an opera by [[Guy Willoughby]] and [[Thomas Rajna]], based on Fugard's play.
+''[[Valley Song]]'' can refer to a 1995 drama by [[Athol Fugard]] (1932-2025) or to a 2005 opera by [[Guy Willoughby]] and [[Thomas Rajna]], based on Fugard's play.
 == The original text==
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 Translated into [[Afrikaans]] as '''''[[Lied van die Vallei]]''''' ("Song of the Valley") by [[Idil Sheard]] in 2003. The text published by [[Maskew Miller Longman]] in 2005/2006.
-Adapted as an opera, under the original title, with a libretto by [[Guy Willoughby]] and a score by [[Thomas Rajna]].
+Adapted as an opera, under the original title, with a libretto - based on the play - by [[Guy Willoughby]] and a score by [[Thomas Rajna]].
 == Performance history of the play in South Africa ==

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 Return to [[ESAT Plays 3 V|V]] in Plays III  Collections
-Return to [[ESAT Festivals  V|V] in Plays  IV: Festivals and Pageants
+Return to [[ESAT Festivals  V|V]] in Plays  IV: Festivals and Pageants
 Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Plays]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:42, 5 March 2026
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	[[Ivan Meredith]]. 2006. 'Opera in South Africa during the first democratic decade'. Unpublished Masters thesis. [[University of Cape Town]].		[[Ivan Meredith]]. 2006. 'Opera in South Africa during the first democratic decade'. Unpublished Masters thesis. [[University of Cape Town]].

		+	https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2005-03-07-rajnas-new-opera-at-spier

	Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography\|ESAT Bibliography]]		Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography\|ESAT Bibliography]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:37, 5 March 2026
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−	''[[Valley Song]]'' is a drama by [[Athol Fugard]] (1932-2025).	+	''[[Valley Song]]'' can refer to a 1995 drama by [[Athol Fugard]] (1932-2025) or to an opera by [[Guy Willoughby]] and [[Thomas Rajna]], based on Fugard's play.
−
−	~~''[[Valley Song]]'' is also the title of~~ an opera by [[Guy Willoughby]] and [[Thomas Rajna]], based on Fugard's play.

	== The original text==		== The original text==

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 Set early in the New South Africa, Fugard's resulting play was, on one level, autobiographical - about an elderly man finding himself more comfortable in the familiar and secure, if confined reality of the past - while on another level, it dealt with the challenges and opportunities facing a new generation in an entirely new environment. It tells of an old "[[Coloured]]" man in the rural Eastern Cape has lovingly brought up his teenage granddaughter in the values, the fears and the limited expectations of the old South Africa, but she has aspirations to be more. Life has given her one thing, a lovely singing voice, and she wants to sing her own song. More, she wants to become a famous singing star in Johannesburg, the City of Gold. Hers is a dream of freedom. The metaphor is apparent; the old must find the wisdom to let go of the past and the new must find the courage to take the first steps into the future. In an interview at the time of the première (cited by [[Johann van Heerden|Van Heerden]], 2008, p. 153), the playwright commented, also in the narrower context of the arts, “I believe that we are going to get it (the new South Africa) right. I believe there is an exciting time ahead for us in the arts as our new reality emerges and as our artists focus on the new reality. Maybe we lack focus at the moment and maybe that’s because our reality isn’t defined”.
-The play, directed by Fugard, premiered at the [[Market Theatre]]  in South Africa in August 1995 with [[Esmeralda Bihl]] as "Veronica" and the Fugard  himself once more as "Buks/Author".and in the USA in October of the same year. The American première  took place at the [[McCarter Theater]] in New Jersey and featured with [[Lisa Gay Hamilton]] as "Veronica" and the Fugard  himself once more as "Buks/Author".
+The play, directed by Fugard, premiered at the [[Market Theatre]]  in South Africa in August 1995 with [[Esmeralda Bihl]] as "Veronica" and the Fugard  himself once more as "Buks/Author".and in the USA in October of the same year. The American première  took place at the [[McCarter Theater]] in New Jersey and featured with [[Lisa Gay Hamilton]] as "Veronica" and the Fugard  himself once more as "Buks/Author". It then opened at the Royal Court in London in February, 1996.
 Published by Theatre Communications Group, 1996, and in ''[[My Life & Valley Song]]'', [[Wits University Press]], 1996.

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:20, 16 February 2026
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	== Sources ==		== Sources ==
		+
		+	Review of ''[[Valley Song]]'' production at the [[National Arts Festival]], [[Beeld]], 12 August 1995.

	[[KKNK]] theatre programme, 1996.		[[KKNK]] theatre programme, 1996.

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:36, 9 December 2025
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−	''[[Valley Song]]'' is a drama by [[Athol Fugard]] (1932-).	+	''[[Valley Song]]'' is a drama by [[Athol Fugard]] (1932-2025).

	''[[Valley Song]]'' is also the title of an opera by [[Guy Willoughby]] and [[Thomas Rajna]], based on Fugard's play.		''[[Valley Song]]'' is also the title of an opera by [[Guy Willoughby]] and [[Thomas Rajna]], based on Fugard's play.

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 == Performance history of the opera in South Africa ==
-: Presented by [[Cape Town Opera]] at the [[Spier Arts Festival]] (5–12 March). It was directed by [[Steven Stead]] and conducted by [[Graham Scott]]. The singers featured were [[Angela Kerrison]], [[Ronnie Theys]], [[Derick Ellis]], [[Christina Farr]], [[Brad Liebl]], [[Cecil Peters]], [[Sophie Harmsen]], [[Nokrismesi Skota]].
+: Presented by [[Cape Town Opera]] at the [[Spier Arts Festival]] (5–12 March). It was directed by [[Steven Stead]] and conducted by [[Graham Scott]]. Set design by [[Greg King]]. The singers featured were [[Angela Kerrison]], [[Ronnie Theys]], [[Derick Ellis]], [[Christina Farr]], [[Brad Liebl]], [[Cecil Peters]], [[Sophie Harmsen]], [[Nokrismesi Skota]]. With the [[Cape Philharmonic Orchestra]].
 == Sources ==

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:29, 26 February 2025
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	[[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.		[[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.
		+
		+	[[Ivan Meredith]]. 2006. 'Opera in South Africa during the first democratic decade'. Unpublished Masters thesis. [[University of Cape Town]].
		+

	Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography\|ESAT Bibliography]]		Go to [[South African Theatre/Bibliography\|ESAT Bibliography]]