Learners and Cape Town Opera Singers Stage HANSEL AND GRETEL for Free Lunch Hour Concert at Artscape

On 11 October, 25 pupils from St Mary's Roman Catholic School in Retreat will sing and dance their hearts out in an adaptation of Engelbert Humperdinck's HANSEL AND GRETEL at a free lunchtime concert in Artscape's chandelier foyer. Both opera lovers and "newbies" are welcome to enjoy the concert, during which tea and coffee will be served. Audience members are also welcome to bring their lunch with them.

The concert, presented in association with Cape Town Opera, will also feature seven professional opera singers in the lead roles. It is directed by Christine Crouse, with choreography by Luthando Todo Tsodo and accompaniment by Juan Burgers.

Since 2014, Cape Town Opera's Outreach and Education department has worked with learners from St Mary's to create youth operas. In the three-year timespan, they have workshopped and performed an abridged version of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE in addition to this adaptation of HANSEL AND GRETEL. During this process, the pupils have received voice training and attended master classes in dancing and drawing. Each learner also received a reader, written and illustrated by Janice Honeyman, that tells the story of the opera. This reader will be on sale for R20 at the performance.

The lunch hour concerts remain integral to Artscape's ethos as an inclusive cultural centre for all, showcasing all genres of the arts. It also offers a platform for collaboration with all the arts companies housed at the Artscape to showcase their talents free of charge to the public on a quarterly basis. The mission of Artscape is to facilitate, produce and promote the arts in ways that advance nation building, to produce productions of a multi-cultural nature and to establish business partnerships involving all stakeholders.