Opulent Opera arias, duets and choruses will resound throughout Artscape’s Chandelier Foyer on Tuesday, 21 May at 13:00 at Artscape’s second free lunch-time concert of 2024 as Cape Town Opera is set to enchant with snippets of their upcoming full-scale restaging of Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. In celebration of their 25th Anniversary, as founded by its former CEO Prof. Angelo Gobabatto, patrons can delight in the soprano sounds of its most famous aria Regnava nel silenzio (sung by Fleur du Cap winner dazzling diva Brittany Smith) while more opera gems include well-known tunes from L’elisir d’amore and Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot. Meanwhile, bass baritone sounds will reverberate as Lonwabo Mose takes Donizetti’s Ah! un foco insolita of Don Pasquale fame to full crescendo. Apparently, there’s even a surprise finale in store!
Baritone Conroy Scott and tenor Lukhanyo Moyake, among others, alongside the enigmatic Cape Town Opera Chorus will complement the concert’s repertoire.
Lucia di Lammermoor, to be staged 14 to 23 June in the Opera House, tells the heart-wrenching tale of a doomed love affair set against a backdrop of family feuds and political intrigue in 17th century Scotland. With Cape Town Opera’s Fleur du Cap-winning star singer Brittany Smith as Lucia, Conroy Scott as Lord Enrico Ashton and Lukhanyo Moyake as Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood with Kamal Khan conducting the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra.
The aim of these concerts, held throughout the year, is to offer an arty lunch-time experience to the immediate Central Business District and Foreshore city workers, where Artscape is situated, as well as city dwellers the sensory joys of some captivating theatre in the form of dance, drama, music and song. Additionally, it seeks to give access to the performing arts to those who cannot afford a ticket.
So come early as seats are limited, bring your lunch and munch away while you enthusiastically enjoy the free spectacle on offer. A selection of teas and coffee will be on sale to complement your lunch, or in case you forget to pack your lunch box an array of sandwiches and wraps will be on sale too.
And be sure to diarise the rest of the upcoming lunch time concerts including:
Tuesday, 13 August, Cape Town City Ballet
Tuesday, 08 October, Zip Zap Circus
Tuesday, 05 November, Unmute Dance Company
Tuesday, 10 December, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra
As an added bonus Fine Music Radio, the only radio station housed inside a theatre in South Africa, may surprise with an additional lunch time concert as they did in 2023.
For more information on these and other exciting productions at the Theatre of Choice kindly peruse our website www.artscape.co.za or follow updates on social media pages @ArtscapeTheatre or call Artscape Dial-a-Seat, including booking and wheelchair access seats, on 021 421 76 95.