OPERALIA 30 – October 30 – November 5 with the CPO! 

Posted on by Lunga Q
It’s out – the news we have been working on for a few months and intensively since a visit last month from the top team of Placido Domingo’s Operalia.   Operalia, the world’s most prestigious competition established by the iconic singer and conductor,  will be held here in Cape Town, the first time in Africa, and hosted by the Cape Town Philharmonic and Cape Town Opera, in Artscape.  The first rounds and semi-finals, with some 40 singers accompanied on the piano, will be open to the public at a minimal cost, and the final round, on November 5, will be with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra for which tickets will go on sale later.  The competition is with the collaboration of Rolex, and local sponsors include Southern Sun Hotels and Rolo Motors Volvo is providing local transport.

All the information is on the Operalia website here and we know there will be great interest in South Africa, which boasts two Operalia winners, Pretty Yende and Levy Sekgapane.
 
The CPO is delighted to host the competition, and was chosen by Operalia because of its excellent international reputation including Cape Town Opera and Artscape who will partner the CPO in this venture. The same partnership successfully hosted the International Belvedere Singing Competition in 2016, another first for the continent. 

Operalia will also be celebrating its 30th anniversary so this promises to be one of the most prestigious events in this year’s music calendar.
 
“This is a major achievement for Cape Town and the CPO”, said Derek Auret, chairman of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. “In a time when the arts in Cape Town are recovering after the Covid pandemic, the world recognises that Cape Town and its renowned CPO can compete successfully with the important international cultural centres.”
 
Marlene le Roux, CEO of Artscape, “opera is the genre that transcends culture and background and this competition on African soil with an African orchestra will open doors to all  young opera singers irrespective of their circumstances”.
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