Cape Town Opera company will be presenting two programmes at the Maynardville Open-Air Festival this week.
One will be an operatic celebration of Shakespeare’s most iconic dramas, and the other will be an evening of spiritual songs.
Under the musical direction of José Dias, Songs of Shakespeare will take place on Thursday January 26 and Saturday January 28 and will feature Cape Town Opera’s Soloists and the Judith Neilson Young Artists Alida Scheepers and Van Wyk Venter in renditions of iconic Shakespearean operatic adaptations that will range from West Side Story to Verdi’s Macbeth and Kiss Me Kate.
For Spirituals, to be performed on Friday January 27 and Sunday January 29, the Cape Town Opera Chorus, under the baton of Chorus Master Marvin Kernelle will perform a diverse programme that brings two continents together with African and American spiritual songs such as Baba Yetu (the Lord’s Prayer), Indodana, Elijah Rock and Wade in the Water.
The Maynardville Open-Air Festival, back after a three-year hiatus and running until Sunday March 5, includes the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream from Thursday February 2 until Thursday February 23; and Cape Town City Ballet from Wednesday March 1 until Sunday March 5.
The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra opened the festival last week.
Performances start at 8.15pm. Tickets, which cost from R161, can be booked and picnics pre-ordered on Quicket, and patrons can also buy food and drink from the Maynardville evening food market.
