Words from a Broken String

Words from a Broken String is a short opera with music by Peter Klatzow, libretto by Michael Williams.

Original text

The opera tells the story of Lucy Lloyd, the nineteenth century linguist, who with her brother-in-law Wilhelm Bleek recorded the now extinct language of the San Bushmen.

Productions

2010: Presented at the Baxter Theatre (November), directed by Geoffrey Hyland, as part of Five:20 Operas Made in SA

2015: Presented by Gauteng Opera at the Soweto Theatre (August), directed by Marcus Desando. Soloists included Natalie Dickson-Bath, Njabulo Mthimkhulu, Phenye Modiane, Kagiso Boroko, Thamsanqa Khaba and Sibusiso Shandu, conducted by Graham Scott, choreography by Thoko Sidiya, with set design and lighting by Wilhelm Disbergen. .

Sources

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 Unpublished PhD thesis.

"Five: 20 - Operas made in South Africa". University of Cape Town. https://humanities.uct.ac.za/cca/projects-archive-and-curatorship-arc-visual-university/five-20-operas-made-south-africa

'Gauteng Opera'. National Arts Council website. https://www.nac.org.za/artisan-post/gauteng-opera/