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May Abrahamse
May Henrietta Abrahamse (6 May 1930 – 5 May 2025) was a South African soprano. She grew up during apartheid and was a prominent figure in the Eoan Group, a cultural organisation that aimed to uplift Coloured people through the arts. Despite the restrictions and challenges imposed by the apartheid regime, she performed opera for marginalised communities in South Africa. She portrayed the title role in Verdi's ''La traviata'' from 1956 to 1975, and appeared as Annina in the same opera in 2004. Life and career Early life and education Born on 6 May 1930 in District Six of Cape Town, Abrahamse grew up with three sisters. She was classified coloured under apartheid. Her interest in singing began at a young age, though her access to formal training was limited. She sang in the Eoan Group's youth choir from age 14 and was selected by conductor Joseph Manca to sing in the adult choir. She performed solo parts in concerts and roles in opera. After attending school in Zonnebloem unt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
District Six
District Six (Afrikaans: ''Distrik Ses'') is a residential neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, located next to the city's Cape Town CBD, CBD. In 1959, people of color were banned from the area and most of them were resettled in Gugulethu. In the following years, District Six was then declared a Group Areas Act, whites-only area and most of the residents were resettled in the Cape Flats.District Six wound to be healed ''Mail & Guardian''. 12 March 2020 Over the course of a decade, over 60,000 of its inhabitants were History of South Africa in the Apartheid era#Forced removal, forcibly removed and in 1970 the area was renamed Zonnebloem, a name that makes reference to an 18th-century colonial farm. At the time of the proclamation, 56% of the district's property was White-owned, 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madama Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther Long, which in turn was based on stories told to Long by his sister Jennie Correll and on the semi-autobiographical 1887 French novel '' Madame Chrysanthème'' by Pierre Loti.Chadwick Jenna"The Original Story: John Luther Long and David Belasco" on columbia.edu Long's version was dramatized by David Belasco as the one-act play '' Madame Butterfly: A Tragedy of Japan'', which, after premiering in New York in 1900, moved to London, where Puccini saw it in the summer of that year. The original version of the opera, in two acts, had its premiere on 17 February 1904 at La Scala in Milan. It was poorly received, despite having such notable singers as soprano Rosina Storchio, tenor Giovanni Zenatello and baritone Giuseppe De Luca in le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pagliacci
''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who murders his wife Nedda and her lover Silvio on stage during a performance. ''Pagliacci'' premiered at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan on 21 May 1892, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, with Adelina Stehle as Nedda, Fiorello Giraud as Canio, Victor Maurel as Tonio, and Mario Ancona as Silvio. Soon after its Italian premiere, the opera played in London (with Nellie Melba as Nedda) and in New York (on 15 June 1893, with Agostino Montegriffo as Canio). ''Pagliacci'' is the best-known of Leoncavallo's ten operas and remains a staple of the repertoire. ''Pagliacci'' is often staged with ''Cavalleria rusticana'' by Pietro Mascagni, a double bill known colloquially as "Cav/Pag". Origin and disputes Leoncavallo was a little-known composer when Pietro Masc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean, Durban is the Port of Durban, busiest port city in sub-Saharan Africa and was formerly named Port Natal. North of the harbour and city centre lies the mouth of the Umgeni River; the flat city centre rises to the hills of the Berea, Durban, Berea on the west; and to the south, running along the coast, is the Bluff, KwaZulu-Natal, Bluff. Durban is the seat of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which spans an area of and had a population of 4.2million in 2022 South African census, 2022, making the metropolitan population one of Africa's largest on the Indian Ocean. Within the city limits, Durban's population was 595,061 in 2011 South African census, 2011. The city has a humid subtr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongside the legislative capital Cape Town and Administration (government), administrative capital Pretoria, although the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court, has been in Johannesburg since 1994. Situated at an elevation of above sea level, the city is home to 256,185 (as of 2011) residents and forms part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality which has a population of 747,431. It was one of the host cities for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The city of Bloemfontein hosts the Supreme Court of Appeal (South Africa), Supreme Court of Appeal, the Franklin Game Reserve, :af:Naval Hill, Naval Hill, the Maselspoort, Maselspoort Resort and the Sand du Plessis Theatre. The city hosts numerous muse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orange Free State (province)
The Province of the Orange Free State (), commonly referred to as the Orange Free State (), Free State () or by its abbreviation OFS, was one of the four provinces of South Africa from 1910 to 1994. After 27 April 1994 it was dissolved following the 1994 South African general election, first non-racial election in South Africa. It is now called the Free State Province. Its predecessor was the Orange River Colony which in 1902 had replaced the Orange Free State, a Boer republic. Its ''outside'' borders were the same as those of the modern Free State (province), Free State Province; except for the bantustans ("homelands") of QwaQwa and one part of Republic of Bophuthatswana, Bophuthatswana, which were contained on land ''inside'' of the provincial Orange Free State borders. Districts in 1991 Districts of the province and population at the 1991 census. Administrators See also * Orange Free State * Free State (South African province) References External links {{co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South African Classical Music
The music of South Africa exhibits a culturally varied musical heritage in conjunction with the multi-ethnic populace. Genres with the greatest international recognition being mbube, isicathamiya, mbaqanga, afrofusion, kwaito, South African pop music, afro house, South African hip hop, Shangaan electro, bacardi house, bolo house, gqom and amapiano. The country's most internationally recognised and prominent musicians include Solomon Linda, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Stimela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ray Phiri, Abdullah Ibrahim, Wouter Kellerman, Brenda Fassie, Seether, Die Antwoord, Jeremy Loops, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Lucky Dube, Lebo M, Goldfish, Freshlyground, Black Coffee, Anatii, Zakes Bantwini, Master KG, Nomcebo Zikode, Nasty C, and Tyla. Pre-20th-century history Early records of music in South Africa as well as Southern Africa indicate a fusion of cultural traditions: African, European and Asian. Modern country's early musician Enoch Sontonga wrote the Souther ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nico Malan Theatre
Artscape Theatre Centre (formerly Nico Malan Theatre Centre) is the main performing arts centre in Cape Town, South Africa. It was opened in 1971 and is located on reclaimed land in the Foreshore, Cape Town, Foreshore area. The inaugural performance was scheduled to be Giuseppe Verdi's ''Aida'' but illness struck the title-role singer Emma Renzi and the production was replaced by CAPAB Ballet's ''Sylvia (ballet), Sylvia''. Other productions in the opening season were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart's ''Die Zauberflöte'' in Afrikaans and Giacomo Puccini's ''Madama Butterfly''. The complex includes: *Opera House, seating 1,487 with provision for two wheelchairs. *Theatre, seating 540 but more or less depending upon whether the pit is used. *Arena Theatre, seating 140. The Artscape Theatre Centre was originally commissioned by the Provincial Administration of the Cape Province and run by CAPAB (Cape Performing Arts Board). It was formerly known as the Nico Malan Theatre Complex, af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Jephtas
Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuckeroth (born 1968), Dutch performer and radio and television personality, known professionally by the mononym Gordon * Clan Gordon, a Scottish clan Education * Gordon State College, a public college in Barnesville, Georgia * Gordon College (Massachusetts), a Christian college in Wenham, Massachusetts * Gordon College (Pakistan), a Christian college in Rawalpindi, Pakistan * Gordon College (Philippines), a public university in Subic, Zambales * Gordon College of Education, a public college in Haifa, Israel Places Australia * Gordon, Australian Capital Territory * Gordon, New South Wales * Gordon, South Australia * Gordon, Victoria * Gordon River, Tasmania * Gordon River (Western Australia) Canada * Gordon Parish, New Brunswick * Gordon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 3 March 1875, where its breaking of conventions shocked and scandalised its first audiences. Bizet died suddenly after the 33rd performance, unaware that the work would achieve international acclaim within the following ten years. ''Carmen'' has since become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the " Habanera" and "Seguidilla" from act 1 and the " Toreador Song" from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias. The opera is written in the genre of ''opéra comique'' with musical numbers separated by dialogue. It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsy Carmen. Jos� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carmen Jones
''Carmen Jones'' is a 1943 Broadway musical with music by Georges Bizet (orchestrated for Broadway by Robert Russell Bennett) and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II which was performed at The Broadway Theatre. Conceptually, it is Bizet's opera ''Carmen'' updated to a World War II-era, African-American setting. Bizet's opera was, in turn, based on the 1846 novella by Prosper Mérimée. The Broadway musical was produced by Billy Rose, using an all-black cast, and directed by Hassard Short. Robert Shaw prepared the choral portions of the show. The original Broadway production starred Muriel Smith (alternating with Muriel Rahn) in the title role. The original Broadway cast members were nearly all new to the stage; Kennedy and Muir each wrote that on the first day of rehearsal only one member had ever been on a stage before this musical. The 1954 film was adapted by Hammerstein and Harry Kleiner. It was directed by Otto Preminger and starred Dorothy Dandridge and Harry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
