Introduction

When sopranos Pretty Yende (b. 1985) and Pumeza Matshikiza (b. 1979) became world-leading opera singers, international press and media widely marketed their extraordinary careers as stories ‘From Township to Opera House’, in line with the eponymous video-clip from Matshikiza's record label (see Decca 2013). The narrative of South African opera singers from disadvantaged communities who have gained fame might also be familiar to non-opera-experts. In 2019, a video of Durban Uber-driver, Menzi Mngoma, who was filmed by a customer singing opera arias while driving, became a social-media sensation. When Mngoma eventually received a job at Cape Town Opera house, even the BBC reported on his story (Allie 2019; Genth 2019; Royer 2019). Although South African opera talent and the local popularity of the genre still seem to intrigue the international media, the socio-political situation for opera in the country is much more complicated than those stories suggest.

Politics has always influenced South African opera productions – during and after apartheid (1948–94). As a predominantly white pursuit, opera was a symbol of segregation and oppression during apartheid and an instrument used to display the idea of white cultural supremacy. Apartheid's legacy can still be traced in the troubled funding situation, for example, or in the problems of developing a non-white audience: important aspects which shape the conditions of South African opera productions today. Furthermore, the current role of opera becomes more complicated when seen as a colonial heritage of Western musical idioms.

Before the transition to democracy the main opera houses were state-funded through the four existing Performing Arts Councils (PACs). These subsidies were phased out near the millennium, leading to a precarious new funding situation for most companies. Cape Town Opera remains the only opera company with a yearround programme. Part of its survival strategy involves overseas performances, which generate revenues that are then used to finance the few productions in South Africa. A number of smaller non-profit organisations have also produced operas, but their limited budgets only allow for the occasional staging of fulllength operas as these are very expensive.