Cape Town Opera’s Opera Blocks, a series of irresistible short performances aimed at very young audiences, is back by popular demand and coming to a library near you this July 2025. The free concerts will be presented in partnership with the Judith Neilson Foundation and the City of Cape Town.
Opera Blocks Forest Friends is a wonderfully immersive performance that invites children to wander and engage with props and set pieces in a captivating forest winter wonderland. Expect to see a sly fox slipping through the bookshelf, a snail slowly turning the pages of their favourite story, and many more magical moments.
This new production is directed by Elizma Badenhorst and designed to entertain little ones between the ages of 0 and 5 years of age. The forty-minute show, a stimulating experience for young minds, is enhanced with choreography, visual effects and gentle music.
Age-appropriate songs will be performed by outstanding Cape Town Opera singers – some of whom were recently seen in CTO’s sellout production of Aida – including Danielle Speckman (Zuri the Butterfly), Ntombizodwa Nkiso (Mimi the Mouse), Ernestine Stuurman (Nia the Deer), Sasha Damons (Bela the Bunny), and Judith Neilson Young Artists Sisikelelwe Mngenela (Luna the Owl) and Khayakazi Mdalala (Tilly the Squirrel). Among the songs sung will be the Evening Prayer from Hansel und Gretel, much-loved tunes from The Nutcracker such as the Waltz of the Flowers and the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
What: Opera Blocks Forest Friends
Where and when: Opera Blocks Forest Friends takes place on 1 July at the Athlone Library at 1pm; on 2 July at the Edgemead Library at 10am and 2pm; on 3 July at the Cape Town Central Library at 12 noon and 2pm; on 4 July at the Hout Bay Library at 2pm, and on 5 July at the Langa Library at 11am
Tickets: Entry is free to all, but tickets do need to be booked in advance through Webtickets
WS
