Beverley Brommert
Cape Town Opera’s lustrous production of Mozart’s Nozze di Figaro in 2022 brought a fresh-faced newcomer to the stage when Alida Scheepers (née Stoman) appeared in the cameo role of Barbarina. She was soon identified as “a singer to watch”, given the power of both her voice and stage presence and it was just a matter of time before this talented young soprano was promoted to more significant roles, so it comes as no surprise that in CTO’s exciting new production of CINDERELLA – also known as Cendrillon, Pauline Viardot’s take on the evergreen Perrault fairytale – Scheepers will make her most important début to date on 4 July 2023 as the Fairy Godmother, gleaming with glamour and entrusted with some of this work’s loveliest arias.
Ticks all the boxes
The prospect is both thrilling and daunting, as Scheepers explains: “The little girl in me is very excited to be performing in a beautiful costume, supported by special effects, but… en pointe, so it requires huge muscular discipline as well as all the usual vocal demands that go with operatic performance. That said, it certainly ticks all the boxes of my aspirations as a performer.” Fortunately her rigorous training at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London will underpin her execution when she contributes her skills to the production.
Most opera stars, whether seasoned or fledgling remember the moment at which they realised that a career in this most beautiful and demanding of professions was for them. Not so Scheepers, who recalls that she responded to music ever since she can remember: “I’ve been told that even before I was born, music soothed me in the womb; I was an easy baby, but as soon as music was switched off, I became fractious!”
Destined for a career in opera
As a little girl, she adored the quasi-operatic voice of Julie Andrews in, especially, Mary Poppins; that so-called “style of the old school musicals.” At the age of 10, she was enrolled in the children’s chorus in Puccini’s Tosca (coming up soon in Johannesburg and Cape Town), and by the time she reached 14, a one-off lesson with an opera singer who was a client of her father’s (the family were then resident in England) convinced her that she was destined for a career in opera.
After three years of study at Trinity, and while she was holidaying in South Africa, Covid changed the course of her life; she fell in love with this country, decided not to return to London to complete her honours course at Trinity, and instead auditioned for a place in CTO’s Judith Nielson Young Artists Programme… the rest, as they say, is history.
A coloratura soprano
Having been accepted into the Cape Town Opera programme, she had much hard work and training ahead of her and as she admits, “great responsibility regarding public performances, such as the Duet Gala, my first major appearance with a full orchestra when I sang an aria from Die Fledermaus.”
At present she is characterized as a coloratura soprano, a young voice still developing with the potential to become a dramatic soprano. The coloratura passages sung by the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella (Cendrillon), she remarks, are easier to accommodate to her natural range – one challenge less in delivering the lyrical, melodic arias that will likely resonate so well with younger members of the audience.
It seems that a future rosy with promise awaits this hard-working, humble, and very gifted young soprano as she navigates the multiple demands attendant on being a Fairy Godmother.
Cinderella, a Cape Town Opera production in association with AM Productions, is a family- friendly show presented at the Artscape Opera House that is just over one hour in duration and suitable for children of all ages. There are several matinee shows.
Tickets cost from R180 to R400, available through Computicket and at 021 4217695.
Cape Town Opera is grateful to Mr and Mrs Stanislas Yassukovich for their generous sponsorship of this production.
What: Alida Scheepers interview Cinderella CTO
When: 4 to 8 July 2023
Where: Artscape Opera House Cape Town
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