After performing last in a full-length production almost 30 years ago, Cape Town’s well-known opera star of many years Aviva Pelham is thrilled to be back on stage at the Theatre on the Bay in A Little Night Music.
Playing Madame Armfeldt in this Stephen Sondheim opera, Aviva joins some of South Africa’s most celebrated musical theatre performers, such as Samantha Peo, Jonathan Roxmouth, and Kate Normington – among others. The singing is top-notch, with Samantha Peo’s rendition of the iconic Send in the Clowns particularly beautiful. So, too, the very strong voices of those in the chorus.
Set in turn-of-the-century Sweden, A Little Night Music unfolds over a single midsummer weekend as former lovers reunite, marriages falter, jealousies ignite, and romantic entanglements spiral into both comedy and heartbreak. Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film, Smiles of a Summer Night, A Little Night Music remains one of Sondheim’s most beloved and sophisticated works.
A great enthusiast for Sondheim’s work, Aviva first fell in love with his music decades ago when she played the witch in Into the Woods at the Artscape. Her admiration for his work covers a range of elements: “He has such insight into human relationships,” she says. “And his music is catchy and very beautiful. He’s also a wordsmith genius, brilliantly changing the patterns of his rhymes,” she adds. “I find new miracles in Sondheim’s music every day.”
The show’s Director Fred Abrahamse comments, “It is sophisticated and funny, but beneath the glitter there is enormous tenderness and vulnerability. Sondheim’s writing is unmatched in its intelligence and emotional truth.”
This is a show well worth going to see. The music, the singing, the stage, the costumes, the story – all make for a very enjoyable evening. It’s on until 12 July at the Theatre on the Bay.
- For the current edition of the Cape Jewish Chronicle, click here.
- Subscribe to the Cape Jewish Chronicle: R450/year, or R38/month via debit order. Simply email us at subscriptions@ctjc.co.za and click here for payment info.
- The Cape Jewish Chronicle reaches over 6 000 readers monthly across print and digital platforms.
- To book advertising space or discuss a custom package contact Adéle Gradner Mobile: 083 321 5222 | Office: 021 464 6736 | Email advertising@ctjc.co.za
