Cape Town Opera House

The Opera House, Cape Town (1893 – 1937)

The Opera House, Cape Town was at the time considered the finest theatre in the Southern Hemisphere. Also called the Cape Town Opera House, it was designed by G. M. Alexander, F.R.I.B.A., and built on the site of the present day main Post Office by W. Kitch for £40 000. The secretary for the Grand Parade Building Co. was E. R. Syfret, St George's Street.

It was opened on 31st August, 1893, in the presence of His Excellency the Governor General and most of the members of Parliament, by the then Mayor of Cape Town (J. Woodhead), with a performance of Dorothy, a musical by Stephenson and Cellier performed by the Lyric Company.

The venue

The building had its entrance on Grave Street, and consisted of the Grand Theatre Restaurant and The Theatre as a performance venue.

The Theatre was quipped with 1000 seats and had a fireproof corridor and was 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.

Lessees and Performances

In 1896 Frank de Jong was the lessee of the Opera House, and 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.

Local impressarios and producers such as Stephen Black, Leonard Rayne and Harry Stodel performed there as well, and Harry Stodel hosted many overseas stars, including Anna Pavlova and Harry Launder in his period as lessee.

In 1904 the theatre saw the first performance of An African Millionaire by Edgar Wallace, written when he was editor of the Rand Daily Mail, and based on the life of Rhodes. It was a dismal failure and closed after 6 days.

(JF & MN)

Sources

Jill Fletcher, 1994)

Frank de Jongh and the Opera House

Frank de Jongh, leased the Cape Town Opera House from 1896-1937. Here he housed his Gaiety Companies, consisting of well-known overseas performers and artistes, including Zena Dare, Matheson Lang, Sybil Thorndike, Lewis Casson, Irene Vanbrugh and Kate Vaughan in a variety of plays, operas and ballets.

Return to

Return to South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page