22 May at 19:30

23 May at 15:00

As the performing arts sector in South Africa begins to awaken after Covid- 19 disrupted public life in the past year, an exciting offering of a narrated version of Madiba the African Opera comes to the stage of the Hugo Lambrechts Auditorium in Parow, Cape Town. Thanks to funding from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP) and the National Arts Council (NAC), eighty-five performers are once again able to do what they love best – perform to a live audience.

Madiba the African Opera is a biographical opera on the life of Nelson Mandela whose libretto was written by the late Unathi Mtirara. The music was composed by Sibusiso Njeza and orchestrated by Kutlwano Masote. The idea of the opera was born from Mtirara’s wish to document the history of the abaThembu royal family and nation. It was Mtirara’s great- grandfather, King Jongintaba who took responsibility for raising nine-year- old Nelson after the death of his father, Chief Mphakanyiswa. Therefore, Mtirara grew up with family tales and anecdotes about Nelson’s early life in Mqhekezweni.

The performance will be narrated by Masixole Makwetu, interspersed with arias, choruses and ensembles performed by some of the best singers in South Africa. Among the glittering cast, leads will be Bongiwe Nakani, Nonhlanhla Yende, Given Nkosi, Zandile Mzazi and Thabang Senekal in the title role. There is also a 30-strong chorus and a 43-piece Cape Town Pops Orchestra under the baton of Kutlwano Masote.

Tickets are R100 on Computicket