On Saturday, 14 February 2026, Sempre Opera is launching the first ever Sempre Secret Picnic, an intimate outdoor musical experience that blends gourmet food, a stunning hidden garden venue, and live opera under the summer sky. The twist: the exact location is kept secret until 48 hours before the event, adding a sense of intrigue and exclusivity.
Enjoy a curated picnic meal (standard or vegan/vegetarian), a welcome drink, and an unforgettable programme of opera classics and lighter favourites performed by talented singers from Sempre Opera and across Gauteng.
With only 150 tickets available across four pricing tiers, this intimate evening promises romance, elegance, and a joyful “party in the park with great music” vibe.
A night where mystery meets music — and every moment feels like a secret worth sharing.
The Heartbeat of Bizet: Carmen Celebrates 150 Years
Sempre Opera, in collaboration with Joburg Theatre, proudly announces the eagerly awaited 2025 stage production of Georges Bizet’s iconic opera Carmen. This production forms part of a global tribute to the masterpiece, which has captivated audiences for 150 years with its fiery characters, immortal music, and timeless themes of love, freedom, and inevitable fate.
The story unfolds in the sun-drenched streets of Seville, where Carmen – an independent woman – refuses to be bound by anyone’s rules. Her relationships with the soldier Don José and the charismatic bullfighter Escamillo ignite a stormy love triangle of passion, jealousy, and betrayal – a timeless tragedy that continues to resonate with audiences worldwide. Bizet’s score, featuring beloved arias such as the seductive “Habanera,” the triumphant Toreador Song, and Don José’s romantic “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée,” remains among the most recognizable and emotionally charged in the operatic repertoire.
The 2025 stage production brings together a distinguished ensemble of local and international talent, under the direction of Riana van Vollenhoven. Renowned mezzo-soprano Linette van der Merwe brings the iconic role of Carmen to life with enthusiastic conviction. Seasoned tenor Stéfan Louw portrays Don José, the tragic soldier whose obsession with Carmen leads to his downfall. The role of Escamillo, the charismatic Spanish bullfighter, is alternately performed by Thabang Senekal (bass-baritone) and Croatian guest artist Berislav Jercovič, adding international flair to the production.
Soprano Jo-Nette LeKay lends lyrical grace to the role of Micaëla, Don José’s childhood sweetheart. The roles of Frasquita and Mercédès are also alternately performed by Letago Kekana, Eulandri Venter as Frasquita, and Stéphanie-Claire Hansen and Sky Simelane as Mercédès, each bringing fresh, youthful energy to the production. The smugglers Le Remendado and Le Dancaïro are portrayed by Chris Mostert (tenor) and Martin Bruwer (baritone), further enriching the vocal ensemble.
The Sempre Opera Ad Hoc Choir, under the direction of Kobus Buys, contributes to the rich soundscape of the production, promising a captivating operatic experience. The Musae Orchestra is conducted by Daniel Keet, who returns from Italy especially to lead the musical direction of Bizet’s most famous opera.
The opera is sung in French with English subtitles.
Performances will take place on July 17-25, 2025, at the Mandela Theatre in Johannesburg. Tickets are available at the Joburg Theatre box office or online at www.joburgtheatre.com.
This production is a celebration of Carmen’s enduring legacy – a tribute to her rebellious spirit and the eternal struggle between love, freedom, and the price of independence.
Lucia di Lammermoor – under the direction of the celebrated founder of Cape Town Opera, Angelo Gobbato. Gaetano Donizetti’s masterful opera tells the heart-wrenching tale of a doomed love affair set against a backdrop of family feuds and political intrigue. Featuring Cape Town Opera’s Fleur du Cap-winning stars such as Brittany Smith, Conroy Scott and Lukhanyo Moyake. Elizabeth Manduell will be assistant director for the Johannesburg run. The Sempre Opera Chorus will strengthen the cast for this memorable event.
Daniel Keet will be conducting the Joburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
Duration: 3h 15m -Act I – Interval of 30 mins -Act II
Proudly sponsored by the Judith Neilson Head Trust, Cape Town Opera presents Mozart’s popular masterpiece, Le Nozze di Figaro, in collaboration with Sempre Opera and Roodepoort Theatre at the Roodepoort Theatre from 06 – 15 July 2022. The Production forms part of the first Judith Neilson Cape Town Opera Tour of 2022.
Director: Magdalene Minnaar Costume design: Maritha Visagie and Rabia Davids Movement direction: Fiona du Plooy Lighting design: Nicolaas de Jongh Orchestra: The Sempre Opera Ensemble, will be conducted by Schalk van der Merwe
Sempre Opera in Pretoria and Johannesburg with Gloria in Excelsis Deo!
Unwrap festive joy with Sempre Opera soloists and instrumental ensemble with a classical music programme. Gloria in Excelsis Deo! celebrates the message of love and peace that accompanies the Christmas season with soloists Loveline Madumo (soprano), Linette van der Merwe (mezzo), Chris Mostert (tenor) and Otto Maidi (bass baritone). There will be something for everyone, from traditional Christmas carols to sing along, to classical and opera favourites.
The first concert series takes place at the AfriForum Theatre in Pretoria on 17 and 18 December at 19:00 and Sunday 19 December at 15:00. Tickets are available at https://afriforumteater.co.za/gebeure-kalender/
The second series presented by Sempre Opera in collaboration with Joburg Theatre takes place in the spectacular surroundings of the Joburg Zoo during the Festival of Lights on 21, 23, and 26 December at the Johannesburg Zoo. These tickets can be booked at https://www.joburgtheatre.com/festival-of-lights-at-joburg-zoo/
Sempre Opera returns to Joburg Theatre with La Traviata (Verdi)
Sempre Opera will be staging one of the most popular operas of all time, the heart-breaking, yet beloved classic, Verdi’s La Traviata in June 2019. Based on the 1848 novel, The Lady of the Camellias, by Alexandre Dumas, the opera tells the story of the Parisian courtesan Violetta Valéry, one of opera’s greatest heroines, based on the real-life courtesan Marie Duplessis, who died in 1847 aged just 23. She has sworn off true love until Alfredo Germont walks into her life, loving her passionately. Her life takes a tragic turn when she risks all for a chance at enduring love with him when Alfredo’s father Giorgio, forces her to abandon his son, to protect his family’s reputation.
From the frenzy of Violetta’s pleasure-filled life to her heart-wrenching decision to leave her beloved, Verdi’s treasured opera is a captivating tribute to what it means to live and die for love and gives us one of opera’s most glorious heroines, a woman of boundless humanity and emotional depth. This tragic tale also is an important intertextual reference in the Greta Garbo film Camille and more recently Baz Lurhman’s musical film Moulin Rouge amongst others.
Cape Town based soprano Leah Gunter makes her company and Joburg Theatre debut as Violetta Valery, the worldly courtesan who has all the men of Paris at her feet. Leah is a well-accomplished soprano who has recently received her Masters of Music in Performance at the University of Cape Town. In June 2018, she participated in The Hong Kong International Operatic Singing Competition where she was invited by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa for a master class. Leah has received numerous nominations and accolades including a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award nominee in the category for the Best Performance – Female – in an opera for the role of Queen of the Night from Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town in 2017.
The role of Alfredo Germont will be sung by Johannesburg based tenor Yudi Cohen who was born in London and studied in the USA and Australia. In 2008 he graduated with a BTech in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria where he was the winning recipient of the Pretorium Trust Award and Absa Merit Award for the Most Outstanding Opera Student.
Well-known baritone, Danie Verster made his professional debut at the Natal Playhouse in 1986 when he sang the role of Giorgio Germont. This will his sixteenth production of La Traviata in the role of Alfredo’s father who demands that Violetta separates from his son, as their relationship threatens his daughter and Alfredo’s sister’s impending marriage. In 1989 he departed for Germany where he worked as a soloist at the Freiburg Stadt Theatre until his return to South Africa in 1996. With a Gesangspedagogische Diploma from the Freiburger Musik Hochschule at the Freiburg University in Germany, Danie has an impressive vocal repertoire which includes various opera roles and oratorio performances.
Pierre du Toit will be directing La Traviata. Pierre has been involved with cutting edge voice science technology and has been instrumental in the implementation of the Voce Vista computer-aided voice training system at the Tshwane University of Technology, a system consequently introduced at the Julliard School of Music in New York and at the most important training centres internationally. Pierre has directed and designed the sets, costumes and props for operas such as L’Elisire d’amore (Donizetti), Hansel und Gretel (Humperdinck), Don Giovanni (Mozart), Faust (Gounod), Falstaff (Verdi), La Cenerentola (Rossini), Cosi fan Tutte (Mozart) and Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart).
La Traviata (Verdi) will be fully staged and sung in Italian with English translations projected. The Capital Chamber Orchestra will be conducted by the talented and award-winning Schalk van der Merwe.
La Traviata (Verdi) will open on Saturday 22 June on The Mandela stage with performances on 23, 26, 28 and 30 June 2019. Shows are at 19h30 from 22 to 28 June, and at 15h00 on Sunday 30 June.
Ticket prices range from R200 to R475 and can be booked online by visiting www.joburgtheatre.com or calling 0861 670 670. There are group booking discounts – please contact the theatre directly for these on 011 877 6853.
After a successful season of Carmen (Bizet) in Johannesburg during the month of June, Sempre Opera will end the year in cooperation with the Capital Chamber Orchestra and the Symphony Choir of Pretoria, under the leadership of conductor Schalk van der Merwe, in the spirit of the season with the Mozart Requiem and Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio on 1 December, 19:30 in the Heldesaal (Hall of Heroes) of the Voortrekker Monument.
The acoustics of the majestic Hall of Heroes with its thirty-meter vaulted ceiling, compares to European cathedrals, and has an echo of six seconds which makes it ideal for the performance of these two iconic compositions. It also showcases the world’s longest historical marble frieze. This concert appropriately concludes the celebration of the eightieth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of the Voortrekker Monument.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Requiem commissioned by an anonymous philanthropist, and according to legend believed that he was busy composing his own funeral music. His work on the Requiem in d-minor was an all-consuming passion for Mozart during the last months of his life. He left his final masterpiece unfinished at the time of his death on 5 December 1791.
Camille Saint-Saëns completed his Oratorium de Noël/Christmas Oratorio in 1858 while appointed as the organist of the Roman Catholic Church L’église de la Madeleine in Paris, France, within two weeks in order to be in time for a Christmas day performance. The work is based on texts from the Old and New Testament, Psalms and the gospels as well as Catholic Christmas liturgy. The chamber music styled instrumentation and lyrical parts create a pastoral atmosphere that led to this becoming one of Saint-Saëns’ most performed works.
The soloists performing during this concert is Deirdré Blignaut-Rautenbach (soprano), Aukse Trinkunas (mezzo-soprano), Linette van der Merwe (mezzo-soprano), Chris Mostert (tenor), Danie Verster (bariton) en Otto Maidi (bass-baritone). Tickets for the concert cost R150 online at www.quicket.co.za and R175 at the doors. Further inquiries can be sent to info@sempreopera.co.za.
Come and join us for an exciting concert at the Weskoppies Main Hall with the famous Mozart Requiem and the Beautiful Oratorio de Noël of Saint-Saëns. This is going to be a memorable experience and will enhance the Christmas spirit.
Dates: 25 November, 19:00 & 27 November, 15:00
Venue: Weskoppies Main Hall
Bookings: R120 at: www.sempreopera.co.za, info@sempreopera.co.za and at the door on the day of the performance.
Soloists: Deirdré Blignaut-Rautenbach, Linette van der Merwe, Aukse Trinkunas, Chris Mostert, Danie Verster
Conductor: Schalk van der Merwe
Sempre Opera Instrumental Ensemble and Ad Hoc Chorus.
Bookings can be done through following details on our BOOKINGS page.
Coffee and Tea will be served!
Since 2011, Sempre Opera has promoted opera by presenting concerts and full productions. This month and early September, two more full-length operas are staged; Bach’s Coffee Cantata and Mozart’s Bastien & Bastienna.
Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht (Be still, stop chattering), BWV 211, also known as the secular Coffee Cantata was composed by JS Bach around 1732 and 1735. Although this work is classified as a cantata, it actually is a miniature comic opera telling the humorous tale of a daughter, Lieschen, hopelessly addicted to coffee and her long-suffering father, Herr Schlendrian, who seems to be at his wit’s end because of her obsession. The role of Lieschen is sung by soprano Deirdré Blignaut-Rautenbach. Danie Verster (baritone) is the father and Walter Fourie is the tenor/narrator.
WA Mozart was only 12 years old when he composed his first miniature opera, Bastien & Bastienna, staged in 1768. This opera in a teacup tells the story of Bastien and Bastienna’s pains and pleasure in love, as well as the role that Colas, a mock magician, plays in their lives. Bastienna is sung by Ailyn Nienaber (soprano) and Herman Pretorius (tenor) makes his Sempre Opera debut as Bastien. Rex Nigrini plays the comical baritone character, Colas. Salome Coertze is the pianist for both productions and direction is by Danie Verster and Deirdré Blignaut-Rautenbach.
Both miniature productions are staged at the Centurion Theatre on Sunday 28 August and 4 September at 15:00. Tickets for the concerts will be sold for R120 per person and can be booked by making an Electronic transfer to the Sempre Opera’s bank account or directly from the Theatre (012 664 8710) Tickets will also be available at the door. For further information please direct enquiries to info@sempreopera.co.za or visit the website at www.sempreopera.co.za and navigate to bookings.
