Program notes
A journey through Cape Town where more and more South Africans make an operatic career.
In the whole of Africa there are only two opera houses with year-round programmes – one in Cairo, and the other in Cape Town. Opera in Africa has no tradition whatsoever. Furthermore, the role of classical music in everyday life is minimal. Nevertheless, people sing constantly and at every imaginable opportunity. South African television is full of programmes in which choirs perform for one another and with choir championships and choir documentaries. You could almost believe that every South African is involved in a choir in some way.
This documentary shows three South African singers with impressive voices who originate from the townships around Cape Town. They grew up surrounded by poverty, criminality and hopelessness, but thanks to their voices have carved out a new future for themselves and thus found a means of escaping their situation. The film observes the singers not only at rehearsals, auditions and performances but also provides an intimate glimpse of their everyday lives.