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You and your partner can attend all of Cape Town Opera's productions this year! To win, enter our give-away now.

The season starts with Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio, set in the historic surrounds of the Castle of Good Hope. This open-air production, staged in the second courtyard of the Castle on 7, 9 and 10 March promises to be an unforgettable experience. Director Christine Crouse has described how the plot resonates strongly with South Africa’s political history and how “Beethoven’s opera of dark versus light and freedom versus imprisonment still speaks to us today.”  With designs by Michael Mitchell, Philipp Pointner will conduct the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and a South African cast lead by John Treleaven as Florestan and Nkosazana Dimandeas Leonore.

La Boheme returns to the Artscape Opera stage as Matthew Wild revives Christine Crouse’s touching production, set in liberated Paris shortly after World War II, in Michael Mitchell’s evocative sets. Rising young South African stars Nozuko Teto and Given Nkosi sing the lead roles Mimi and Rodolfo, following their acclaimed appearances in Suor Angelica and Lucia di Lammermoor respectively in Cape Town. British conductor Jeremy Silver leads the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra, with the CTO Voice of the Nation Chorus on 5, 9, 11, 16 May.

American tenor Lawrence Brownlee makes his Cape Town debut in a gala concert of bel canto showpieces on 13 May, with South African-born soprano Sally Silver and mezzo-soprano Violina Anguelov, conducted by Jeremy Silver. Mr Brownlee will make his Cape Town debut in a thrilling programme of favourite bel canto excerpts. He is joined by South African-born soprano Sally Silver, who returns from the United Kingdom fresh from widely praised appearances in Lucia di Lammermoor, I puritani and Orlando, as well as Violina Anguelov, with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Jeremy Silver.

From 15-18 August, Trouble in Tahiti, Leonard Bernstein’s entertaining and highly accessible one-act opera about how 1950s suburban bliss unravels is perfomed. CTO makes its debut at the Fugard Theatre with this touring production of Trouble in Tahiti, which forms part of the company’s 2012 National Tour, visiting De Aar, Rustenburg, Polokwane, Kimberley and Bloemfontein. Starring Violina Anguelov and singers from the CTO Voice of the Nation Studio, directed by Matthew Wild, the evening begins with a musical introduction to the life of Bernstein, exploring the themes of love and marriage in his life and his work. Albert Horne is responsible for musical direction.

Mozart’s most sophisticated Italian comedy returns, Cosi fan Tutte will be presented in collaboration with UCT Opera School, in a thought-provoking new staging. Profound pain, betrayal and sadness show through the cracks in the surface of this brittle comedy, set to some of Mozart’s most sublime music, as two lovers assume disguises to test the constancy of their fiancées. A new production by director Matthew Wild and designer Tina Driedijk will throw a startling new light on this complex work, while Kamal Khan puts the brightest young talents of the UCT Opera School through their paces in the exquisite arias and ensembles of this extraordinary score. Performances will take place at the Baxter Theatre from 28 August - 1 September.

CTO’s smash-hit production of Porgy and Bess, a massive popular and critical success in the UK, comes to Cape Town from 29 September to 6 October. Unveiled in 2009, the production had British critics reaching for superlatives, praising the company’s “fierce energy” (The Telegraph), “collective fervour” (The Independent), “the magnificence of the soloists” (The Spectator) and “vivacious staging” (The Times). While the highlights of this American folk opera by George and Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward (including the songs Summertime, Bess, you is my woman now and It ain’t necessarily so) have been embraced by singers from many genres since the piece was first heard in 1935, it took some time (along with countless revisions and adaptations) before the piece took its rightful place in the international operatic canon. Christine Crouse’s passionate, vibrant and highly detailed staging, set in Soweto in the 1970s, sheds an entirely new light on the piece, against Michael Mitchell’s haunting set of ramshackle buildings, abandoned billboards and fences cutting into a brooding sky.

South African operatic legend Angelo Gobbato directs a new production of Offenbach’s crowning achievement, Tales of Hoffmann, conducted by Kamal Khan. The German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann’s fantastical stories have inspired a number of stage works, including the beloved ballets The Nutcracker and Coppelia, but none as extravagant as Offenbach’s operatic account of his life. Newly besotted with the actress Stella, Hoffmann entertains his friends with tales of his failed love affairs with three women: a winsome clockwork doll, a frail musician determined to sing herself to death, and a Venetian courtesan to whom he gives his shadow. Presented in collaboration with UCT Opera School from 23 – 29 November at Artscape Theatre.

You stand a chance of winning a season ticket for two to these exciting operas by sending an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with CTO in the subject line.

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Entries close on 29 February.