Neels Hansen
Neels Hansen (1936-2014). Designer and Director for theatre and opera.
Contents
Biography
Cornelius Johannes Hansen born on 16 April 1936 and went to school in Heidelberg in the Transvaal. He then studied at the University of Pretoria and the Pretoria Teachers Training College, with a view to becoming a teacher. However, at the age of 24 his interests shifted and he began work at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre.
He died of cancer in November 2014 at the age of 78.
Contribution to South African theatre and performance
Hansen was a driving force behind South African opera and musical theatre in the North of the country, both as a lecturer at the University of Pretoria and his work as designer, director and artistic director for PACT Opera. In 1999, he and the soprano Mimi Coertse founded the Black Tie Ensemble as means to help preserve the traditions of opera performance in South Africa and to create a pathway for gifted, aspiring young singers to become opera performers. This later evolved into what is now known as the Gauteng Opera. Hansen remained a patron of this till his death in 2014.
As designer
His early costume designs include those for Kismet (1973) and Sun City’s opening theatre production (1979)
As director
His directing projects include:
1971: La traviata (PACT Opera)
1971: Tosca (PACT Opera)
1974: Lucia di Lammermoor (PACT Opera)
1974: La bohème (PACT Opera)
1975: Die Fledermaus (PACT Opera)
1976: La bohème (PACT Opera)
1981: Aïda (PACT Opera)
1983: The Merry Widow (PACT Opera)
1995: Les contes d’Hoffmann (PACT Opera)
1996: Madama Butterfly (PACT Opera)
2001: Rigoletto (Black Tie Ensemble)
2002: Madama Butterfly (Black Tie Ensemble)
2004: La bohème (Black Tie Ensemble)
Others (dates unknown) include:
Death in Venice (with designs by Peter Cazalet)
L’elisir d’amore (for the Royal Opera of Teheran)
Gounod's Faust
Awards
He won a Naledi Lifetime Achiever Award, February 2005.
In 2014 he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Kyknet Fiestas, for his contribution to Theatre and Costume Design.
Sources
Percy Tucker, 1997
http://www.taadaa.co.za/Neels-Hansen-sterf-op-78
http://gautengopera.org/neels-hansen-2/
http://gautengopera.org/tribute-to-a-genius-neels-hansen/
The Star, 15 February 2005.
https://iol.co.za/entertainment/2014-12-02-opera-maestro-sad-loss-ot-sa/
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