Recitals are held throughout the year; operas not so often. The Richard Wagner Society has been proud to have presented artists from all spheres of classical music over the years.
Operas.
November 28, 2013
Wagner / Verdi / CPO.
The Richard Wagner Society is delighted to announce a collaboration with the Verdi Society and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate the bicentenary of these composers who changed the face of opera.
Bookings for the City Hall concert will open on August 1 at Computicket and Artscape Dial a Seat.
THE CAST:
Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Bernhard Gueller
Soloists:
Michelle Breedt, mezzo
Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi, soprano
Tshepo Moagi, tenor
Riaan Hunter, baritone
Siyabulela Ntlale
Thesele Kemane, bass
Bongani Khebeka, bass
Siyabulela Ntlale
Bongani Khubeka
Thesele Kemane
Voices of Cape Town
The programme:
Wesendoncklieder, arias from Tannhauser, Lohengrin, La Traviata, Don Carlo, Simon Boccanegra and Luisa Miller.
February 16, 18, 19, 2012
Le Convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali.
Gaetano Donizetti
Donizetti was smiling at the way his opera, Le Convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali, also known as ‘Viva la Mamma’ turned out in the 2012 Suidoosterfees in the Kyknet Theatre at Artscape on February 16, 18 and 19. The audiences – and those at the final dress rehearsal were delighted at the way art mirrored life or life mirrored art! Baritone Siyabulela Ntlale in the title role of Donna Agata impressed the critic at Die Burger, as did Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi as the prima donna, Daria, in particular.
THE CAST:
Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra
Director: Lara Bye
Conductor: Kamal Khan
Soloists:
Donna Agata: Siyabulela Ntlale
Daria: Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi
Procolo: Thesele Kemane Procolo
Poet: Thando Mpushe
Maestro: Mandisinde Mbuyazwe
Luigia: Linda Nteleza
Guglielmo: Makudupanyane Senaoana
Pippetto: Karen Van Der Walt
Impresario/director: Phelo Nodlayiya
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID:
“Siyabulela Ntlale as Mamma is very funny … Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi as Daria impressed. Makudupanyane Senoana as the German tenor was also good.” – Naude van der Merwe, Die Burger, February 18, 2012
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…”a production which was charmingly innocent in its direct approach. The humour is real, neither contrived nor clever … This was the grubby, unflattering world of rehearsal and the milieu was neatly captured in Kramer’s efficient set … The cast do well … Ntlale (‘s) … sheer physicality tended to dominate the stage and his personality was quite its match…
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“The production was a credit to the Richard Wagner Society of SA and confirms its status as a serious player in SA’s opera firmament” – Deon Irish, Cape Times, February 21, 2012
January 27 and 29, 2011
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER
Richard Wagner
Playing to two full houses at Artscape Opera on January 27 and 29, 2011, The Flying Dutchman reached and charmed two sold out houses in the 2011 Suidoosterfees. This was the first time the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra joined with the Richard Wagner Society, and the first time the Wagner Festival Chorus was featured. This chorus comprised 40 young singers from the townships, not one of whom had been inside an opera house, heard an opera or spoke German.
THE CAST:
Soloists:
Senta: Nkosazana Dimande
Dutchman: Gary Simpson
Steuerman: Sonnyboy Dladla
Daland: Rouel Beukes
Eric: Matthew Overmeyer
Mary: Karen van der Walt
Cape Town Philharmoic Orchestra
WHAT THE CRITICS SAID:
“Besonderer ‘Hollander’ ‘n lus vir die oog en oor!” – Pieter Kooij, Die Burger
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“The Wagner Society really did us all a great favour …. Lara Bye’s vibrant and accessible production of Wagner’s opera is tailor-made for Capetonians …. Kamal Khan does an amazing job with Wagner’s richly complex score.” – Fiona Chisholm, The Cape Times
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“What a triumph … a standing ovation on the sensational first night.” – Rodney Trudgeon, Fine Music Radio
2009
La Scala di Seta
Gioachino Rossini
Director: Lara Bye
With Magdalene Minnaar, Elizabeth Frandsen, Aubrey Lodewyk, Sunnyboy Dladla and Conroy Scott
2008 & 2009
La Serva Padrona
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Director: Lara Bye
With Monique Weich, Christiaan Snyman and Mondi Mthombeni
Herbert Gloeckner, President of the Richard Wagner Society of South Africa, was presented with the Golden W, the international Wagner Society’s most prestigious award, in 2010.