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Opera Gala: for one night onlyBUZ Publicity07/28/2010 15:15:32 
If you thought that the cream of South Africa's operatic talent had deserted local stages, come to Joburg Promusica on August 15 at 6.30pm. When highlights from some of the world's most renowned operas are assembled in an evening's programme, and are entrusted to some of the country's finest voices, opera lovers should ensure to diarise the event. Regulars will be pleased to note that there is an outreach component to this event, as part of Promusica's ongoing efforts to build new audiences. Existing opera buffs will also undoubtedly welcome a swelling of their ranks - after all, we all want to share that which delights us! Our conductor for the evening will be Graham Scott, whose career has spanned both opera and musical theatre. He might balk at our calling him an "institution" - but that's exactly what he is. Scott will preside over the JMI Orchestra and the Gauteng Choristers. Soprano Sally Silver, whose talents have been lauded abroad, and who's now firmly rooted in the international circuit, always enjoys the opportunity to sing "on home ground". In fact, Sally has specifically flown out in order to grace us with her voice at this auspicious gala event. Her singing of the title role in Lurline, in this year's Naxos recording, had critics spouting superlatives, and the CD set rated #11 on the Gramophone charts. Also this year, Sally made a highly successful Handel debut at the Scottish Opera. She received a warm welcome back from Scottish audiences, who had hailed her performance in the 2008 production of Il Puritani, at the same venue. Mezzo-soprano Teresa de Wit has enjoyed an illustrious singing career, winning the SAMRO/Deon van der Walt Scholarship in 1999 and attending master classes at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria the following year. She was a member of the Cape Town Opera Studio and a soloist with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra before joining the Black Tie Ensemble in 2006. She has sung at various BTE events, including a performance at Tuynhuys during the Presidential Banquet in honour of Mr and Mrs Kofi Annan. Her stage roles include Alisa in Donizetti's ‘Lucia di Lammermoor', Rosina in Rossini's ‘The Barber of Seville', Dorabella in Mozart's ‘Cosi fan tutte', and Kate Pinkerton and Suzuki in Puccini's ‘Madama Butterfly' . Baritone Aubrey Lodewyk hails from Rustenburg. He completed his Vocal Art Diploma at the Tshwane University of Technology in 2005, and, in 2006, joined the Cape Town Opera Studio. He is currently studying towards an Honours degree in music performance at the University of Cape Town. In 2008 he appeared as Balintulo in the world premiere of the opera ‘Poet and Prophetess' for the Norrlands Operan in Sweden and Cape Town Opera, and also sang the role of Germano in Rossini‘s ‘La Scala di Seta'. His recent performance as Marcello in Opera Africa's ‘La Bohème' firmly announced Lodewyk as a bright new talent on the South African opera scene. Otto Maidi has taken his rich bass tones as far afield as Norway, where he sang Colline in ‘La Bohème' at the Opera Sør, last year. He began singing at the age of eight at his church's Sunday school and his school in Pretoria. From there, he progressed to a number of community choirs, and, in 1996, joined the Pretoria State Chorus and the Pro Musica Opera Chorus. His singing lessons at the Pretoria Technikon Opera School (under Piere du Toit) allowed him to progress to the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he obtained his Artist Certificate Degree in Vocal Performance under Prof. Barbara Hill-Moore. His career has ranged from roles in musicals such as ‘Showboat' and 'Porgy and Bess' to prominent parts in operas such as ‘Aida‘ and ‘L'Elisir d'amore'. Audience favourites on the programme will include excerpts from Mascagni's ‘Cavalleria rusticana', Mozart's ‘Cosi fan tutte', Bellini's ‘Norma', Verdi's ‘Il Trovatore' and, of course, Puccini's ‘La Boheme'. VENUE: Promusica's Main Auditorium DATE: August 15 TIME: 6.30pm TICKETS: R150 The Pro Musica theatre complex, situated within the Civic Centre at Florida Park, Roodepoort, offers ample free parking for patrons. Bookings can be done at any Computicket outlet, or online at www.computicket.com Media Queries: Bridget van Oerle / Christabel Zulu BUZ Publicity 011 482 3467/3489 083 263 6991 FAX 011 388 4404 christabel@buz.co.za |
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