Cape Town Opera
Encyclopedia
Cape Town Opera is a professional opera
company located in Cape Town
, South Africa
. CTO was founded in 1999 by the management and staff of the former South Africa Arts Council Opera. The company produces many fully stage opera productions during an annual season at the Artscape Opera House, Baxter Theatre Centre
, Joseph Stone Auditorium and approximately 15 other venue
s throughout South Africa. The company creates operas spanning four centuries of repertoire.Cape Town Opera has inspired audiences for twelve years with world-class stage productions, meaningful education and community outreach initiatives and valuable training programmes. The company has established itself as South Africa’s largest performing arts organization and is gaining widespread international recognition and acclaim for its touring productions.
The world is waking up to the extraordinary qualities of South African singers, and Cape Town Opera is a key training ground, employer and international launch pad for local singers, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Opera has never been more relevant in this country, and this is the ideal time to become a part of the opera community, thereby ensuring that opera continues to enrich and transform the lives of both performers and audience members.
CTO Outreach and Education: Outreach
Through its Outreach and Education Programme, Cape Town Opera is committed to:
- Bringing performances to a wide range of South Africans beyond the Cape Metropole, instilling love and appreciation for opera and classical music and building new audiences for the art form.
- Providing meaningful arts education for young people who will be the performers and audience members of tomorrow.
- Using musical theatre as a tool for on social and historical education.
- Increasing access to Cape Town Opera performances.
CTO also regularly tours to Europe and has partnered with companies such as Norrlandsoperan, Sweden
's Malmö Opera and the Welsh National Opera
. Notable international productions include performances for the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre
in Cardiff
, Puccini's Turandot
with Norrlandsoperan, a 2005 European tour of Jerome Kern
's and Oscar Hammerstein
's Show Boat
, and performances of Porgy and Bess
with both the Welsh National Opera
and Norrlandsoperan in 2006, and Deutsche Oper Berlin
in 2008. In October 2009 the company brought Porgy and Bess to Wales Millennium Centre
, Royal Festival Hall
and Edinburgh Festival Theatre
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
company located in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. CTO was founded in 1999 by the management and staff of the former South Africa Arts Council Opera. The company produces many fully stage opera productions during an annual season at the Artscape Opera House, Baxter Theatre Centre
Baxter Theatre Centre
The Baxter Theatre Centre is a performing arts complex in Rondebosch, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The Baxter, as it is often known, is part of the University of Cape Town; it is also the second largest performing arts complex in Cape Town, after the Artscape Theatre Centre.The Baxter...
, Joseph Stone Auditorium and approximately 15 other venue
s throughout South Africa. The company creates operas spanning four centuries of repertoire.Cape Town Opera has inspired audiences for twelve years with world-class stage productions, meaningful education and community outreach initiatives and valuable training programmes. The company has established itself as South Africa’s largest performing arts organization and is gaining widespread international recognition and acclaim for its touring productions.
The world is waking up to the extraordinary qualities of South African singers, and Cape Town Opera is a key training ground, employer and international launch pad for local singers, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Opera has never been more relevant in this country, and this is the ideal time to become a part of the opera community, thereby ensuring that opera continues to enrich and transform the lives of both performers and audience members.
CTO Outreach and Education: Outreach
Through its Outreach and Education Programme, Cape Town Opera is committed to:
- Bringing performances to a wide range of South Africans beyond the Cape Metropole, instilling love and appreciation for opera and classical music and building new audiences for the art form.
- Providing meaningful arts education for young people who will be the performers and audience members of tomorrow.
- Using musical theatre as a tool for on social and historical education.
- Increasing access to Cape Town Opera performances.
CTO also regularly tours to Europe and has partnered with companies such as Norrlandsoperan, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
's Malmö Opera and the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
. Notable international productions include performances for the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Puccini's Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
with Norrlandsoperan, a 2005 European tour of Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
's and Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
's Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
, and performances of Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
with both the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
and Norrlandsoperan in 2006, and Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
in 2008. In October 2009 the company brought Porgy and Bess to Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert...
, Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
and Edinburgh Festival Theatre
Edinburgh Festival Theatre
The Edinburgh Festival Theatre is a performing arts venue located on Nicolson Street in Edinburgh Scotland used primarily for performances of opera and ballet, large-scale musical events, and touring groups. After its most recent renovation in 1994, it seats 1,915...
.