Artscape Theatre Centre (formerly Nico Malan Theatre Centre) is the main performing arts centre in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It was opened in 1971 and is located on reclaimed land in the

Foreshore The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of Marine habitat, habitats ...

area. The inaugural performance was scheduled to be

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

's ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'' but illness struck the title-role singer Emma Renzi and the production was replaced by CAPAB Ballet's '' Sylvia''. Other productions in the opening season were

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's ''

Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'' in

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

and

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...

's ''

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 Lu ...

''. 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 The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

and run by

CAPAB The Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB) was a South African theatre organisation based in Cape Town, serving the former Cape Province. It was one of the four state-funded performing arts councils in the four former provinces of South Africa inst ...

(Cape Performing Arts Board). It was formerly known as the Nico Malan Theatre Complex, after the former

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

administrator of the

, Dr. Johannes Nicholas Malan (commonly known as Nico Malan), who initiated the project. The development and design was contracted to Murray and Roberts Construction now called

Concor Concor Holdings (Proprietary) Limited. is a South African construction and mining services company. It is active throughout Southern Africa, involved in civil engineering, buildings, roads and mining projects. Concor returned as an independent ...

. The centre was privatized and renamed in March 2001, when the Cape Performing Arts Board (

) was dissolved. , the CEO is Marlene le Roux. The Artscape Theatre Centre is also the home of

Fine Music Radio Fine Music Radio is a radio station that is based within the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. Founded in 1995, Fine Music Radio focuses mainly on classical music and jazz, and broadcasts on frequencies 101.3 in the greater Ca ...

and oversees the

Maynardville Open-Air Theatre The Maynardville Open-Air Theater is an outdoor theatre in Maynardville Park, Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa. It seats 720 people and is known for its annual Shakespeare in the Park plays. History Park grounds Before it was named Maynard ...

Wynberg, Cape Town Wynberg ( ) is a southern suburb of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated between Plumstead, Cape Town, Plumstead and Kenilworth, Cape Town, Kenilworth, and is a main transport hub for the Southern Suburbs, Cape Town ...

. It also houses the

Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) is an orchestra based in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. History Founded by the Cape Town City Council as the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra, the CPO held its inaugural concert on 28 February ...

and the

Cape Town Opera Cape Town Opera (CTO) is a professional opera company in Cape Town, South Africa. CTO was founded in 1999 by the management and staff of the former South Africa Arts Council Opera and the Cape Performing Arts Board (CAPAB), itself a successor to ...

. The

Cape Town City Ballet The Cape Town City Ballet Company, formerly known as the CAPAB Ballet Company, is a dance company based in Cape Town, South Africa. History The Cape Town City Ballet originated from the UCT Ballet Company, which was established by Dulcie Howe ...

also performs there.

References

External links

* {{Cape Town, culture Theatres in Cape Town Concert halls in South Africa Theatres completed in 1971 Music venues completed in 1971 Opera houses in South Africa Ballet venues 20th-century architecture in South Africa 1971 establishments in South Africa

See also

References

External links