What: The Opera Singer
Starring: Fiona Ramsay and Owain Rhys Davies
Direction: Janna Ramos-Violante
When: January 20 until February 7, 2026
Where: Baxter Studio, Cape Town
Bookings: Webtickets  

Standing ovation at the preview last night, January 20, 2026 at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, of The Opera Singer, a play starring Fiona Ramsay and Owain Rhys Davies.  The writer/director is Janna Ramos-Violante. The season at the Baxter is until February 7.

The Opera Singer, takes a deep dive into celebrity, specifically the world of opera, through the lens of a journalist, Theo (Owain Rhys Davies) who interviews his idol/crush. The brilliant Ramsay is as always, a tour de force. As The Opera Singer, she is regal, fierce, testy and yet vulnerable and needy. Behind the diva of the character, she conjures up the loneliness and isolation of fame, navigating discipline, madness and talent. A gorgeous chandelier, plush chairs and Diva gear and stiletto shoes, conjures up the shimmering and opulent world of the Opera Singer. It is set in the 70s but it could be anytime, wherever. There is a sense of liminality.

The play made its debut last year (2025) at the Salzburg Arts Festival and then was staged at Vienna’s Das Off Theatre. Ramos-Violante, a Saffa, lives in Austria and runs an English theatre company there.


Ramos-Violante and Ramsay have a long association, working together. Ramos-Violante wrote the play, with Ramsay “in mind”. She told me that she has always been “interested in celebrity and the faded star”. Although the play is not a reconstruction of the life of Maria Callas, it is inspired by Callas and other divas. For me there are shades of Terrence McNally’s Masterclass in The Opera Singer but the play is not “about” Callas.

Ramsay channelling Callas, wears a gorgeous Callas-esque wig, made by Emmy award winning, Vera Alimanova. The wig is like another character. Alimanova is a South African, living in Cape Town.  South African creatives are making an impact on international world stages. This production is emblematic of the spirit of collaboration across demographics and cultures, by South Africans. Here we have Ramos-Violante, a South African based in Austria, igniting projects, involving colleagues from her home country, South Africa and also reaching out to others from different backgrounds. She met Rhys Davies on a film set. He is Welsh and is an acclaimed theatre and screen actor. And here they are – presenting the Opera Singer in Cape Town, ahead of its run in Joburg at The Theatre on the Square and then a tour in Europe.

For Ramos-Violante and Ramsay, it is about keeping the spirit of South Africans alive – their work alive all over the world. “Building creative bridges, across continents”, muses Ramos-Violante.

Circling back to The Opera Singer, There is a lovely interplay between Ramsay’s Opera Singer and Theo (Rhys Davies) who interviews her but ends up the one who is interrogated. Narrative spoiler – Rhys Davies sings. He has a glorious voice. Theo is smitten by the Opera Singer who makes “you feel alive”. You may not recall the facts but you recall “the feeling …how people make you feel”.


The Opera Singer is a poignant and moving portrait of the long distance loneliness of fame and celebrity. Sacrifices for art can be all consuming and Ramsay evokes that so beautifully. It is immeasurably sad. Can one ever be “enough”? It is also a call-out to overcome the fear of not succeeding and to embrace the path of art – no matter what. That is inspiring. It is a treat to see Fiona Ramsay on stage again –a doyenne of South African theatre. She is a diva in all the good senses of the word – a laeding light – without the attitude – always inhabiting the stage with a visceral presence. Bravo to Janna Ramos-Violante, Ramsay and Tony Flack who is one of the producers. Flack is another Saffa, living in the UK. I look forward to seeing more work, out of Europe, back to us in Africa, by Saffas.

✳ Featured image: Fiona Ramsay and Owain Rhys Davies in The Opera Singer