La Traviata at Roodepoort Theatre soon

On Friday night 11 April, Stéfan Louw Productions in association with the Roodepoort Theatre will be presenting Aria! Opera for Everyone – La Traviata with soprano Anina Wasserman as Violetta.

Louw, who is one of the country’s best-known tenors, will be singing the role of Alfredo.

This is the second in this year’s season of Aria! Opera for Everyone, following the acclaimed Opera Gala on 7 February, which was produced by Louw as a special production for the relaunch of the Roodepoort Theatre.

Staying true to his mission to bring a measure of quality to the true aficionado whilst entertaining the newcomer, Louw plans to produce what he calls a mini opera of La Traviata.

The soloists (Wasserman and Louw) will be performing the most popular soprano and tenor arias and duets, while the narrator in the role of Violetta’s maid, Annina, will be relaying the events of Violetta’s last months.

Instead of an orchestra, Louw decided to stage this production with two pianos. Laetitia Orlandi and Eugene Joubert, both seasoned opera pianists, have worked closely with Louw to arrange the full opera score into suitable accompaniment for this shortened, semi-staged production.

For this concert Louw has put together an opera choir made up of former State Theatre Opera Chorus members in association with the Pro Cantare who shared the stage with him for two of last year’s productions at the Roodepoort Theatre.

The majority of the choir members are young, professionally trained singers that share his passion for opera. Three of the choristers also participate in Louw’s Youth Audience Development Programme for Opera. This shows his commitment not only to develop a sustainable audience but also to give young talent an opportunity to start where he did almost two decades ago.

In order to encourage newcomers to become regular opera goers Louw, keeps the total length of the programme short; each half of the programme contains about 35 minutes of music with a 20 minute interval.

Tickets for this concert, with narrator, are available at R120 per person. The concert starts at 8pm. For more information, please visit www.stefanlouw.co.za. To reserve your seats call Nevolan at the Roodepoort Theatre on 011 674 1357. One show only.

Patrons can enjoy a delicious meal at the new Stages Restaurant at the Roodepoort Theatre before the show. For enquiries or dinner reservations call Asara (general manager) on 071 872 6417.