Coenraad Visser: On stage in Pretoria
Two productions, one traditional, the other innovative; one a confident affirmation of established opera values, the other an equally confident glance at the future of opera in this country. The productions are Rigoletto by the State Theatre Opera in Pretoria and Cape Town Opera’s La BohSme: Noir at the Johannesburg Civic Theatre. What they have in common though, is the sure guiding hand of director Michael Williams.
Williams presents Verdi’s Rigoletto in a more or less traditional mould. Not that he had much choice, given that he had to work with existing sets and costumes, glorious as they are. But, as expected, his staging is entirely natural. His characters are real people, with emotions we can identify with and whose actions we understand. What a wonderful director to make some relatively inexperienced young singers feel confident on stage!
In this Williams is helped by conductor Bruno Aprea, who is infinitely musical and attentive to Verdi’s strenuous vocal demands. Benefiting from this partnership is Jannie Moolman (the Duke of Mantua), here in the most demanding role of his career. Vocally, his showstopper arias were exquisitely sung, and dramatically, he was a most dashing noble.
Elizabeth Lombaard (Giovanna), Kaiser Nkosi (Count Ceprano) and Loveline Madumo (Countess Ceprano) also showed glorious voices, promises of an exciting future.
A pity, then, that imports Maura Buda (Rigoletto) and Daniela Lojarro (Gilda) disappointed. Buda is a bloodless jester, not funny or tragic. Lojarro is believable and moving, but vocally rather old and tremulous.
For La BohSme: Noir, Hal Shaper has written an original English libretto. The vernacular is South African English with the odd bit of Xhosa thrown in. Puccini’s tale of love against a revolutionary background of restlessness, repression, poverty and wasteful death is moved from Paris to Soweto. The Parisian caf, becomes a shebeen, while the first act takes place on Republic Day in 1976 instead of Christmas Eve.
The cast of black singers are some of the most exciting voices to be heard in this country today. Sibongile Mngoma (Mimi) has already proved herself as a leading exponent of Puccini’s vocal style, while Fikile Mvinjelwa (Marcello) is fast establishing himself as a leading baritone.
Agos Moahi (Rudolpho) and Thokozani Mkhize (Musetta) complete the quartet of lovers, while singers from Johannesburg, Pretoria and Krugersdorp make up the chorus.
Rigoletto is on at the State Theatre, Pretoria, on March 14, 16 and 18. La BohSme: Noir is on at the Civic Theatre, Johannesburg, on March 15, 17, 19 and 21