Cape Town Opera (CTO) is a professional opera company located in Cape Town, South Africa. CTO was founded in 1999 by the management and staff of the former South Africa Arts Council Opera. The company produces many fully stage opera productions during an annual season at the Artscape Opera House, Baxter Theatre Centre, Joseph Stone Auditorium and approximately 15 other venue s throughout South Africa. The company creates operas spanning four centuries of repertoire.Cape Town Opera has inspired audiences for twelve years with world-class stage productions, meaningful education and community outreach initiatives and valuable training programmes. The company has established itself as South Africa’s largest performing arts organization and is gaining widespread international recognition and acclaim for its touring productions.
The world is waking up to the extraordinary qualities of South African singers, and Cape Town Opera is a key training ground, employer and international launch pad for local singers, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Opera has never been more relevant in this country, and this is the ideal time to become a part of the opera community, thereby ensuring that opera continues to enrich and transform the lives of both performers and audience members.
CTO Outreach and Education: Outreach
Through its Outreach and Education Programme, Cape Town Opera is committed to: - Bringing performances to a wide range of South Africans beyond the Cape Metropole, instilling love and appreciation for opera and classical music and building new audiences for the art form. - Providing meaningful arts education for young people who will be the performers and audience members of tomorrow. - Using musical theatre as a tool for on social and historical education. - Increasing access to Cape Town Opera performances.
CTO also regularly tours to Europe and has partnered with companies such as Norrlandsoperan, Sweden's Malmö Opera and the Welsh National Opera. Notable international productions include performances for the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Puccini's Turandot with Norrlandsoperan, a 2005 European tour of Jerome Kern's and Oscar Hammerstein's Show Boat, and performances of Porgy and Bess with both the Welsh National Opera and Norrlandsoperan in 2006, and Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2008.[1] In October 2009 the company brought Porgy and Bess to Wales Millennium Centre, Royal Festival Hall and Edinburgh Festival Theatre.