Opera
Opera (or "The Opera") as a theatrical form
For the use of the name The Opera for a theatrical venue, see the entry on Opera House
Besides the various custom built Opera Houses in the country (SEE Opera House), many other large theatre venues, especially those intended to house larger scale productions (e.g. of opera, operatta, ballet and musical presentations) have, over the years, also been referred to as "The Opera" or "The Opera House" by locals, journalists and even in adverts and other publications. (See for example The African Theatre in Cape Town.)
In the case of the venues built for the four provincial Performing Arts Councils (PACs) (1963-1994) by the provincial performing arts councils in the 1970s-1980s, the name The Opera was specifically given to the largest venue in each of the four theatre complexes. These were all well-equipped venues for the staging of a full scale operatic production.
For more on these venues, see the entries on the four state theatres, i.e. the Nico Malan Theatre ((later known as ArtsCape); the State Theatre Pretoria; The Playhouse, Durban and the Sand Du Plessis Theatre, Bloemfontein.)
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