Event information
Cape Town Opera presents a new English-language adaptation of Leoš Janáček's opera The Cunning Little Vixen, reimagined for family audiences by librettist Alan Olejniczak. Janáček's original work, which premiered in Brno in 1924, follows Vixen Sharp-Ears from capture through escape and into the forest cycle of life and death.
In this adaptation, the story concludes not in tragedy but in affirmation; the Vixen escapes the Forester, outwits his wife, sparks a rebellion among the hens, evicts a Badger from his den, finds a Fox to marry and raises cubs in the forest, with the production ending on the continuity of the natural world rather than individual loss.
The production is sung in English and runs 75 minutes with no interval. It is directed by Fiona du Plooy, with musical direction by conductor Jan Hugo and Nathan Lewis on piano. Costumes are designed by Maritha Visagie. The cast features Judith Neilson Young Artists Khayakazi Madlala and Rethabile Khaile alongside CTO House Soloists Nonhlanhla Yende and Conroy Scott.