In the past, The Black Tie Ensemble collaborated with township community choirs for all the chorus work in The Black Tie Ensemble (BTE) productions. However, it soon became evident that the BTE needed access to a semi-professional opera chorus which, with training, would meet the unique demands of an opera chorus. Thus The BTE management decided to establish a permanent Black Tie Opera Chorus.

This Chorus, under the supervision of BTE Senior Coach and Repetiteur, Susan Steenkamp-Swanepoel, is available perform in all BTE galas, concerts and opera productions. In addition, this chorus is at liberty to perform in other concerts and productions (not necessarily staged by The Black Tie Ensemble itself) in and around Pretoria, thus providing the choir members with opportunities to supplement their income. An additional benefit of the Opera Chorus is that it provides the opportunity for singers with little or no formal training to be prepared and developed for the Incubator Scheme (within a vocally safe environment) before being admitted to the training programme.  The choristers receive ad hoc fees, tuition, music theory, training in Italian and German pronunciation, while learning essential performance skills, theatre discipline and theatre etiquette. These are all valuable life skills, irrespective of the field one ultimately works in.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BLACK TIE OPERA CHORUS

In the past, The Black Tie Ensemble collaborated with township community choirs for all the chorus work in The Black Tie Ensemble (BTE) productions. While numerous collaborations were highly successful (such as the Gala Concert where the Ensemble was joined by the Gauteng Choristers – an independent choir under choirmaster Sidwell Mhlongo), circumstances were not always entirely favourable for various reasons. It soon became evident that the BTE needed access to a semi-professional opera chorus which, with training, would meet the unique demands of an opera chorus. This decision was further motivated during the January 2005 auditions for The Black Tie Ensemble Incubator Scheme. There were many wonderful voices to be heard, but out of the nearly 200 young people who auditioned only three new candidates could be accepted into the Incubator Scheme for that year. Mimi Coertse, South African opera diva and founding member of The Black Tie Ensemble, later said: “Having had great opportunities during my own career, I was distressed to hear so many good singers who might never have the opportunity to perform on stage.”  Thus, The BTE management decided to establish a permanent Black Tie Opera Chorus which would be able to create employment for singers on an ad hoc basis. This has greatly benefited the Black Tie Ensemble, and proved to be the ‘next step’ in the development of The Black Tie Ensemble, as a performing entity.

The response we had from potential choir members seeking to audition was overwhelmingly positive. The majority of the 40 chorus members who were accepted into the chorus were unemployed. Originally administered by respected chorus-mistress, Mathilda Hornsveld, the Opera Chorus is now under the supervision of BTE Senior Coach and Repetiteur, Susan Steenkamp-Swanepoel.  Since its inception, The Black Tie Opera Chorus has developed into a highly-esteemed opera chorus, having performed at numerous Sunday Morning Concerts, taken part in the acclaimed 2005 productions of Lucia di Lammermoor (sponsored by Sappi), and A Tribute to Mario Lanza (sponsored by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund), and in 2006, the production of Four Opera Vignettes and the Sappi-sponsored production of I Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana. In addition, it forms an integral part of both the annual Valentine’s Day concerts, and Christmas Concerts. Furthermore, this chorus is free to perform in other concerts and productions (not necessarily staged by The Black Tie Ensemble itself) in and around Pretoria, thus providing the choir members with opportunities to supplement their income.  An additional benefit of the Opera Chorus is that it provides the opportunity for singers with little or no formal training to be prepared and developed for the Incubator Scheme (within a vocally safe environment) before being admitted to the training programme. 

The choristers receive ad hoc fees, tuition, music theory, training in Italian and German pronunciation, while learning essential performance skills, theatre discipline and theatre etiquette. These are all valuable life skills, irrespective of the field one ultimately works in. For more information, please contact Mr Unathi Mtirara,