Opera House

Opera House Cape Town

Also called the Cape Town Opera House. (1893 – 1937). Situated on the site of the present Post Office** and built for £40 000. First performance (31 August 1893): Dorothy, a musical by Stephenson and Cellier performed by the Lyric Company.

(The Cape Town Opera House). 1893 – 1937. Situated on the site of the present Post Office** and built for £40 000. First performance (31 August 1893): Dorothy, a musical by Stephenson and Cellier performed by the Lyric Company. The theatre was of major importance and at the time considered the finest theatre in the Southern Hemisphere, with 1000 seats, a fireproof corridor, lit by gas, which was later replaced by electricity. The pit was of the latest design, stalls were well padded and covered with red leather, the dress circle and boxes were elaborate with chaste designs and there was a "gods" with bench seating. It also housed a restaurant, The Grand Theatre Restaurant. In 1896 Frank de Jong was the lessee, his “Gaiety” companies performed here, as well as various well-known international performers, including Zena Dare, Matheson Lang and Sybil Thorndike. * Mark Twain also gave three performances of his At Home there in July 1896. *In June 1909 Leonard Rayne became the lessee. Harry Stodel** [hosted many overseas stars such as Anna Pavlova and Harry Launder and locals such as Stephen Black*, Leonard Rayne* and Harry Stodel*. EXPAND] (JF & MN) (See Fletcher, 1994) **Also saw the first performance of An African Millionaire by Edgar Wallace. Written by Wallace when he was editor of the Rand Daily Mail, it was based on the life of Rhodes. Produced by Leonard Rayne in the Opera House in Pretoria/Cape Town (??*) in 1904. It was a dismal failure and closed after 6 days.

The Theatre

The theatre was of major importance and at the time considered the finest theatre in the Southern Hemisphere, with 1000 seats, a fireproof corridor, lit by gas, which was later replaced by electricity. The pit was of the latest design, stalls were well padded and covered with red leather, the dress circle and boxes were elaborate with chaste designs and there was a "gods" with bench seating.

The Grand Theatre Restaurant

It also housed a restaurant, The Grand Theatre Restaurant.

Lessees and Performances

In 1896 Frank de Jong was the lessee, his “Gaiety” companies performed here, as well as various well-known international performers, including Zena Dare, Matheson Lang and Sybil Thorndike. * Mark Twain also gave three performances of his At Home there in July 1896. *In June 1909 Leonard Rayne became the lessee. Harry Stodel** [hosted many overseas stars such as Anna Pavlova and Harry Launder and locals such as Stephen Black*, Leonard Rayne* and Harry Stodel*. EXPAND] **Also saw the first performance of An African Millionaire by Edgar Wallace. Written by Wallace when he was editor of the Rand Daily Mail, it was based on the life of Rhodes. Produced by Leonard Rayne in the Opera House in Pretoria/Cape Town (??*) in 1904. It was a dismal failure and closed after 6 days.

Sources

(JF & MN) (See Jill Fletcher, 1994)

Opera House Port Elizabeth

Port Elizabeth. ***It was bought by the state and given to PACT to run. It was revamped and reopened in 1967. **??

Source

Official website: http://www.peoh.co.za/

Eric Atwell, 1992

Port Elizabeth Opera House the first 100 years by Eric Atwell. Published 1992 by Cape Performing Arts Board

Opera House Pretoria

Conceptualised in 1902, but finally opened on 27 February 1904. Designed by the company McIntosh and Moffat for the entrepreneurs Ben and Frank Wheeler. Described by McIntosh as follows on 18 February, 1904: "The main front will be on Pretorius Street, of classic architecture in the rennaissance style, showing an elevation of three storeys. At either side of the entrance there will be two shops, one intended as a first class buffet. A long corridor with a marble tiled floor willlead from this entrance into the foyer, above 35 feet square, from whence by mounting a few steps directly in front of the entrance corridor access will be had to the stalls. On either side of the foyer there is a marble staircase leading to the dress circle. The total seating capacity is 1016." On the stage he said: "The proscenium opening is large, leading on to a stage 57 feet by 38 feet, with ample dressing room accomodation… the orchestry will be a sunken one." It was meant for opera, but was only used for such for the first two years. Taken over by McKay Bros, the music firm, in 1907, it was mostly used for gramaphone concerts and operettas. It was also long a favourite venue for shows and meetings in Pretoria. Besides the many English and Afrikaans productions done there. These included the first productions of plays such as [An African Millionaire by Edgar Wallace, by Leonard Rayne Pretoria/Cape Town (??*) in 1904.], Ou Daniel by Harm Oost by the Afrikaans-Hollandse Toneelvereniging on 9 March, 1906, Piet s'n Tante (Brandon Thomas, tr by Gustav Preller) in April, on 1908, Afrikaner Harte ("Afrikaner Hearts") by M.M. Jansen by students of the Transvaal University College in 1918, under the direction of Stephanus Maré?*, Die Heks (C.L. Leipoldt) by Stephanie Faure and Paul de Groot on 2 May 1925, Huis Toe (Heimat by Süderman) by Paul de Groot in 1925, Ampie by Jochem van Bruggen, starring André Huguenet directed by Stephanie Faure on 18 April 1930, ** Spoke (“Ghosts”) by Ibsen (1947), Romeo and Juliet (Johannesburg Reps, 1949). A watershed production there was the Afrikaans version of Hamlet, produced by André Huguenet and African Consolidated Theatres, directed by Anna Neethling-Pohl and Siegfried Mynhardt on ** 1947. Others include Spoke by Ibsen (1947), Romeo and Juliet (Johannesburg Reps, 1949). Other notable events taking place there include the Kruger-day (10 October) political meeting in 1914 which set off the the armed resistance to participation in the war (the so-called Rebellie - "Rebellion"). Like many such theatres it was later managed by African Theatres and used as a part time bioscope (cinema house). For example, over the years the film Di Voortrekkers was regularly shown there on December 16th (Day of the Covenant). In 19** it was converted into a full time bioscope?*, and in 197* the interior was stripped to make way for a mall, though - in response to a public outcry - the façade was retained and still stands in Pretorius Street. Pretoria Opera House: Romeo and Juliet was performed here and in the Wits University Great Hall in 1949. It was produced by the Reps to commemorate twenty one years of existance. It was directed by André van Gyseghem, and starred Leon Gluckman, Eugenie Heyns, Muriel Alexander and Herbert Kretzmer. Sets by Len Grosset and costumes by Louis Jacobson impressed. Leonard Schach’s Cockpit Players embarked on a lengthy Johannesburg run of four of their recent Cape Town successes in 1959. The second was Basil Warner’s Try for White, which opened at the Pretoria Opera House before moving to the Intimate Theatre for the remainder of their highly successful run. It starred Marjorie Gordon, Nigel Hawthorne, Zoe Randall, Michael Turner. Joyce Grant and Fiona Fraser replaced Minna Millsten and Heather Lloyd-Jones respectively, from the Cape Town cast. ****

Sources

(Binge, 1969, Vermeulen, 1971, Tucker, 1997) [TH, ABr]

See also

The Opera, names for specific and dedicated performance spaces within existing state-funded theatres

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