LOOK: Cape Town Opera presents Mozart's ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’ at Roodepoort Theatre

Cape Town Opera presents Mozart's ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’. Picture: Supplied

Cape Town Opera presents Mozart's ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’. Picture: Supplied

Published Jul 7, 2022

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The Cape Town Opera is bringing Mozart's masterpiece “Le Nozze di Figaro” to Roodepoort Theatre for a limited season, from July 6 until July 15.

The production forms part of the first Judith Neilson Cape Town Opera Tour of 2022.

Commenting on the show, General Manager of Roodepoort Theatre, Pritheven Pillay says: “We are delighted to welcome Cape Town Opera, Africa’s premier opera company to the Roodepoort Theatre and to host to one of the most performed and best-loved operas worldwide.”

“We believe a production such as Le Nozze di Figaro is symbolic of our commitment to supporting and growing local talent.

“We therefore respectfully encourage audiences to share our vision by returning to the theatre.”

Directed by Magdalene Minnaar, the production is a collaboration between Cape Town Opera (CTO) and the Gauteng-based Sempre Opera.

Costume designer Maritha Visagie approached the production with a view to this year's CTO themes of “Sustainability, Creativity, and Diversity”, in light of which they created modular set units for reuse in future productions on stages of varying sizes.

Cape Town Opera presents Mozart's ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’. Picture: Supplied

Costumes, wigs, props, and furniture form a great collection, judiciously upcycled from the existing CTO and Artscape stores.

Inspired by the Rococo aesthetic, Minnaar opted for a period look-and-feel but took a few liberties here and there to give it a unique modern twist. All in keeping with Mozart's sense of fun.

“I wanted to create a world inspired by the romanticism of artful decay.

“It encapsulated the opera's story and the world we currently live in,” shares Visagie.

Cape Town Opera presents Mozart's ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’. Picture: Supplied

This work is adapted from the second novel of a sprightly trilogy by the 18th-century author Pierre-Augustin Caron (Beaumarchais).

His cheerful cynicism matched the spirit of his age, and it is apparent in Le Nozze di Figaro.

Here we have the sequel to Le Barbier de Séville (Rossini), where a younger, more sentimental Figaro promotes the obstacle-fraught romance and marriage of a lovelorn Count (Almaviva) and an equally smitten girl (Rosina).

In Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, a decade later, the lustre has worn off their once radiant union; the Count has become an inveterate lecher, and his Countess is understandably depressed.

Once more, Figaro comes to the rescue with the added incentive of jealousy.

His comely fiancée Susanna has caught Almaviva's wandering eye… and his betrothed ably abets him in frustrating the adulterer's intentions.

Cape Town Opera presents Mozart's ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’. Picture: Supplied

Between them, the Count's social inferiors outwit Almaviva and contrive to reignite his love for the wronged Rosina.

In the end, all's well that ends well, in the best of comic opera tradition.

A couple of entertaining sub-plots are added to this central plot to pique the audience’s interest up to the dénouement.

The stellar all-South African cast features Conroy Scott as Figaro, Brittany Smith as Susanna, William Berger, and Siphamandla Moyake as Count and Countess Almaviva.

Tickets cost R220 and are available at Webtickets.