Royal Australian Opera Company

The Royal Australian Opera Company is the name given to Pollard's Opera Company while it was touring South Africa.

1903: South African tour; ca. May-July •Troupe: Pollard's Opera Company (aka Royal Australian Opera Company). •Itinerary included: Cape Town (ca. May); Johannesburg (His Majesty's Theatre; 11 July - ca. October) •Djin Djin was the opening production for the newly built His Majesty's, Johannesburg. The producers were Messrs. B. and F. Wheeler (AA: 8 Aug. 1903, 3). •The dates given here are for the company's seasons, as no particulars regarding the various Djin Djin performances have yet been located. Among the other productions staged by Pollard in 1903 were The Gay Parisienne and The Casino Girl. a touring opera that visited South Africa.

They visited South Africa in 1903, performing in the Good Hope Theatre, Cape Town from May 4, under the management of the Wheeler Company, featuring among other Gertie Campion and Dan O'Connor.

Their performances included Djin Djin (Royle and Williamson), The Gay Parisienne, La Fille du Tambour Major (Offenbach), The Casino Girl (Smith) and La Mascotte ().

Sources

D.C. Boonzaier, 1980. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

F.C.L. Bosman, 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 414

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