Feast of light classical music
TTHE Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s music department will be taking guests on a classical music journey with its Opera Lights concert tomorrow at the South Campus Auditorium.
Opera Lights will include classical highlights from Mozart, such as The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi Fan Tutte and The Magic Flute, featuring the NMMU Wind Symphony, the brass ensemble and students from the opera studio of Njabulo Mthimkhulu.
NMMU music lecturer Gareth Williams said it was the first time the university was producing a show of this nature, where the opera studio and the large ensemble were coming together to perform.
“The show is 70 minutes long and will be opened by the NMMU brass ensemble conducted by Professor Erik Albertyn. One of the soloists, Nosiviwe Mqwebedu, is active in opera circles across the metro,” Williams said.
Mthimkhulu, originally from KwaMashu in KwaZulu-Natal, recently joined the music department and was vital in compiling the programme, according to Williams.
Mthimkhulu said before deciding on the music, he considered where the students were in terms of learning and capabilities.
“Nosiviwe, who is part of our ensemble for tomorrow is not a NMMU student, but a singer from Kwazakhele. When I heard her I was convinced she needed to be in the showcase,” Mthimkhulu said.
The programme will also include works by Verdi and Leonard Bernstein’s Four Dance from the popular musical West Side Stor y.
Tickets are R60 for adults and R40 for students and pensioners. The concert will start at 7.30pm.
Inquiries: (041) 504-2250.