For three days only this week, from the 26th to the 28th of May, UCT’s Opera School and the Baxter Theatre will be presenting La Boheme, one of the world’s best-loved operas, directed by the legendary Angelo Gobbato and musical direction from Kamal Khan.
Some of you may be wavering about whether or not to make the effort (despite the cold and the rain) to come and see it.
Here are 5 reasons why you absolutely should make the time.
- It’s an extraordinary, timeless work.
- The story is as relevant as ever.
- Future opera stars will be on display.
- This is your life.
- The music
Since it first premiered in Italy during the late 1880’s, La Boheme has been universally acclaimed as one of Puccini’s masterworks and an all-time opera classic. Written by Giacomo Puccini and originally conducted by Alberto Toscanini, the opera has been performed continuously around the globe for the past 130 years and was recently presented on Broadway by ground-breaking Australian director, Baz Luhrmann and won a Tony award.
La Boheme is set in Paris during the 1830’s, and is based on a series of short stories which portray the lives of the young bohemians who flocked to the Latin Quarter of Paris looking for love and artistic fulfillment. The plot revolves around the romance between poet Rodolfo and the seamstress Mimi. It’s grand, tragic, beautiful and hilarious – all at the same time.
UCT’s Opera School is continuously grooming and developing the brighest young talent in the world of opera and preparing them for a life in the spotlight. This staging will be a wonderful showcase for a new generation of opera stars to make their mark and begin the work of building a reputation as a major new star. This is your chance to see them before they are tainted by fame, jaded by fortune or exhausted by the gruelling schedule of a world-class music star.
Chances are that you’re young, struggling to make ends meet while following your dreams, deciding on a career, while finding and falling out of love. All at the same time. This is exactly what the show is about – and it’s what the performers as well as the audience are going through. At only R35 a ticket, it’s completely worth it.
Of which there is nothing else to say except that it is sublime and unforgettable.
Click here for more info and to book tickets.
The Baxter Blog 