Stellenberg soprano to appear as guest artist in Mozart comic opera
Alida Scheepers takes the role of Madame Golden Trill in Mozart’s The Impresario, a comic opera directed by Cape Town Opera’s Elisabeth Manduell. It is one of three bite-sized productions in CTO's upcoming season of Shorts: A Festival of Pocket Operas at the Artscape Arena. Picture: Supplied.
Soprano Alida Scheepers from Stellenberg is set to appear in Mozart’s comedy opera The Impresario, presented by Cape Town Opera (CTO) at the Artscape Arena from next week.
The Impresario, directed by Elisabeth Manduell, is one of three short opera productions in CTO’s upcoming season of Shorts: A Festival of Pocket Operas from Thursday April 11 until Sunday April 21.
The Impresario is described as the comedy piece of the trio of operas.
The story revolves around a producer (an impresario) who is trying to establish a full season with close to no budget.
He and his assistant are relieved when a wealthy investor is willing to donate to the arts. The only drawback being that the two singers he is associated with, have to be hired.
Scheepers graduated from Cape Town Opera’s Judith Neilson Young Artist programme last year.
In The Impresario she takes the role of Madame Golden Trill, an opera star who has enjoyed a long, successful career and is close to retirement yet wanting to remain relevant in the theatre industry.
The other character, soprano Miss Silverpeal, is a fresh-out-of-university singer who wants to get to the top as quickly as possible.
There is a feisty dispute and lots of hilarious antics between the two women but fortunately, everything is resolved later on.
“This light opera is the perfect introduction to the genre, concise and with all the theatrics associated with opera and drama, boosted by beautiful songs and of course Mozart’s wonderful music! Don’t miss it,” says Ms Manduell.
The other two bite-sized operas in the Shorts: A Festival of Pocket Operas are the world premiere of Conrad Asman’s Trial by Media opera about the media's perceptions and complexities surrounding the Oscar Pistorius trial, and Poulenc’s La voix humaine, a moving opera that tells the story of a woman dealing with her descent into dementia.
Trial by Media is on Thursday April 11 and Thursday April 18 at 6pm and the double bill with La voix humaine and The Impresario is on Friday April 12 and Friday April 19, at 6pm and 7.30pm respectively.
Tickets cost from R150 through Webtickets or 021 421 7695.