This week Cape Town Opera (CTO) launches its first book “The Art and the Passion” – a photographic record capturing some of those special behind-the-scenes glimpses of its productions staged in Cape Town, Malmö and Cardiff during 2009.
Comprising months of hard work by CTO’s Business Development Manager Adriaan Fuchs, the idea for a book celebrating CTO’s 10th Anniversary first came about when local photographer Mark Kalkwarf requested to take photos of director Christine Crouse’s production of “Madama Butterfly” in May last year.
“We were so amazed by Mark’s images that we decided to expand the idea into a book, commissioning further contributions from Malin Arnesson of our touring production of “Show Boat” in August in Sweden and from Kiran Ridley of “Porgy and Bess,” when it was staged in October in the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Wales.
“Stuart Ralph produced the photographs of our memorable Gala Concert which opened CTO’s season last year,” said Adriaan.
“The Art and the Passion” is sponsored by the City of Cape Town’s Department of Arts and Culture and is a tangible representation of their support of the arts, and more particularly Cape Town Opera.
“Our book pays tribute to all the unsung heroes – the people who play such a huge role in helping to make the magic happen on stage: the technicians, technical crew, make-up artists, production people – everybody behind the scenes as well as the singers, musicians, directors and conductors. The idea is to provide a glimpse into this backstage world that the public does not see.”
Interspersed with the photos are quotes by the artists, singers and the technical crew about what it is that drives them to do what they do.
“It’s a view into the process that they go through in their development. For instance, it is heart-warming to read Kimmy Skota saying she always thought ‘only special people could sing like that’ …and now she’s doing it herself.
“And then there is Janelle Visagie telling how she grew up singing in church bazaars, but inside her there has always been a showgirl waiting to get out. She showed us that side of her when she sang Magnolia, the leading lady in ‘Show Boat’.
“Our work is so fleeting – a few performances and the productions are over. It will be great to have a book which celebrates and captures in a beautiful way what we do. People will not see shots from the front of the stage. It’s not about how grand or how big our sets were. It’s about trying to capture the very human elements back stage.”
“The Art and the Passion” will be available from March 1 directly from CTO offices and from selected books stores at a cost of R150. For sales or enquiries, please contact the CTO offices on 021-410 9918.
