Visiting Italian virtuoso pianist, Alessandro Taverna, and DUT actor Mpilonhle Makhaye enjoy tiny bite-size German delicacies to honour Durban’s hosting two productions featuring German “Singspiele” – a small-scale operatic musical drama in which spoken dialogue is interspersed with song
Dr Pamela Tancsik stages and directs Marikana to Mahagonny – an adaptation of the seldom performed Mahagonny: A Songspiel by iconic German powerhouse music makers Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, from which the term “Songspiel” (combining the German “Singspiel” and the American word “Song”) is derived. The music is really complex and interesting and was considered a new sound using strong jazz influences and a Gershwin feel. It plays for a short season at DUT Courtyard Theatre from 27 until 31 August nightly at 7.30pm.
Tonight (Thursday 23 August) The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra opens its 2018 Early Spring Season – which runs in the Durban City Hall each Thursday until 13 September, starting at 19h30. On the programme tonight is an original German Singspiel: the overture of Mozart’s Il Seraglio