Review: Stunning opera showcase, SHORTS: A Festival of Pocket Operas, presented by Cape Town Opera, April 2024

Love. Love. Loved: SHORTS: A Festival of Pocket Operas – presented by Cape Town Opera at Artscape Arena. The three operas in the festival: Trial By Media, La Voix Humaine (The Human Voice) and Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario). The season finishes this weekend- Sunday April 21, 2024

I saw the triple bill last weekend. The triple bill features all three operas. SHORTS: A Festival of Pocket Operas is an extraordinary platform initiated by Cape Town Opera. Renowned designer Allegra Bernacchioni (Italian designer living in Cape Town) has designed the set for the three operas.

The triple bill is on again on April 20 and 21at 15h00, 16h30 and 18h00 respectively. Attend all 3 or singles. It is a very special triple ball. I wish there had been popcorn to munch on in between for this triple feature opera show. There is a double bill on April 19 – La voix humaine and The Impresario – on at 18h00 and 19h30 respectively

Trial by Media is a new opera. This is a world premiere The composer is Conrad Asman and libretto is by the late playwright Schalk Schoombie. Direction is Fred Abrahamse and Marcel Meyer of Abrahamse and Meyer Productions. Musical director is Jose Dias and Jose is on stage playing the piano.

Trial by Media peels back the veneers of how the Oscar Pistorius murder trial was consumed by the public, through the glare and intrusion of the media, in particular social media. Allegra Bernacchioni’ brilliant set frames the judges on one level, Oscar (Van Wyk Venter) on another and the proxy jury (witnesses, social media paparazzi) on another podium, fixated on their iPads. They are in sunglasses like influencers. Everyone is static, frozen. Reeva (the brilliant Brittany Smith) is the only one who moves physically- the spirit of Reeva hovering – howling, screaming, crooning. It is a very tense and intense epic opera packed into an hour.

Outstanding performance by Brittany, Van Wyk Venter, the judges and chorus (the jury of influencers, witnesses). Jose on piano and his accented playing (thanks Conrad Asman for that term) conveys the power of Conrad’s score. It is a piano concerto.

Audio visuals screened on the walls of the Arena – evoke the endless scrolling though social media. I felt it was too much – an overload – the constant flickering but perhaps in a big venue – the flickering would not be overpowering. I could not hear all the words and would have liked surtiles but as it is, there would be no space to incorporate. Perhaps surtitles could be incorporated as cinema type surtitles, scrolling on the screens.

Trial by Media major and epic opera. It is an important piece and uses social media as a vital medium to excavate the fall of the golden boy Oscar and the tragic murder of the golden girl, Reeva. Trial by Media is a brave and audacious piece of operatic theatre – conceptually inspired – narrative, music, libretto and staging. There has been considerable pushback in some quarters, heckling that imaging the murder trial on stage is distasteful. I disagree. I think this important territory to explore- the conversations that we need to have as to how we as the public, costume news and trade and feed off celebrity trauma. I reiterate- this is an important piece of work- opera seria -serious opera. Theatre is a safe space to ignite conversations and the opera medium can heighten and enhance through the voice as medium.

The 2nd opera on the triple bill of SHORTS: A Festival of Pocket Operas is La voix humaine (The Human Voice) by Francis Poulenc and text by Jean Cocteau, stars the incredible Janelle Visagie. 

Visagie won a Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards for Best Female Opera Singer in 2018. She deserves another award – I would say a theatre award as best actress in a leading role. This production of La voix humaine is like watching an opera play. It’s a drama with voice. Janelle sings in French – for me she channels Edith Piaf – the tragic chanteuse – and all the non-regrets. It’s a magnificent performance – shredded by grief, loss, passion, fear or losing love, losing one’s grip on sanity, aging; descending into madness, dementia. And not being wanted or loved, rejected.

Magdalene Minnaar as director has Janelle Visagie prowling around a plinth, wheelchair in the frame, trying to ground herself in the madness as memories, hallucinations, image crackle into each other. Janelle strips the Woman to the bare essence. It is a wow of a performance and is synthesis of opera and drama – absolutely mind blowing. Magdalene deserves best director of a solo play – never mind opera. Just saying.

Jose Dias at the piano is acutely tuned into the pain, yearning, and agony of the Woman – a mash up of cabaret, revue, opera play.

One quibble for La voix humaine is that the surtitles (English) are projected onto a small retro TV monitor – and if you are not sitting in the first few rows- it will probably be difficult to read. Unless you are French speaking, you will miss out on the transactions. It might be an idea to place a number of TV monitors in the auditorium. I loved the cinematic/TV surtitles on the monitor. I just think one needs multiple units.

The last opera on the triple bill is Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impresario), a delightful and fun production with energetic and sassy direction by Elisabeth Manduell (she is only 28 by the way). Robin Phillips is at the piano (he is also musical director).

The cast is a hoot – Alida Scheepers. Dineo Bokala, Mongezi Mosoaka and Lonwabo Mose, with actor Dean de Klerk. Fab cast – operatic and acting smarts.  The narrative has been localized with the evocation of Cape Town characters. Love the vibe and Elisabeth’s comic direction. Love Allegra’s set – stripping back the stage to expose the wings of the theatre love. Tremendous attention to detail – costumes and fabulous props  such a pencil sharpener – so retro. I don’t recall seeing one of these doodads for years. Don’t miss SHORTS: A Festival of Pocket Operas. It’s an opportunity to see a stunning showcase of operas – an intriguing programme, brilliant voice/performances, design, staging, musical direction.

✳ Featured image Brittany Smith as the spirit of Reeva Steenkamp in Trial by Media, SHORTS: A Festival of Pocket Operas – presented by Cape Town Opera at Artscape Arena, April 2024. Pic by Kim Stevens. Supplied. Related coverage on the TCR interview Trial by Media: https://thecaperobyn.co.za/interview-urgently-compelling-relevant-staging-trial-by-media-world-premiere-presented-by-cape-town-opera-shorts-a-festival-of-pocket-operas/