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[Adrienne Sichel] “That explains everything,” exclaimed diva deluxe Mimi Coertse as Kgosi Leruo Molotlegi, King of the Royal Bafokeng Nation, sat at the grand piano on his 39th birthday and played a verse from Whitney Houston's Saving all my Love for You.
His Majesty was surrounded by Black Tie Ensemble (BTE) opera singers who bravely tried to get into the R'nB act.
This was no ordinary impromptu sing-along. It was a specially negotiated photo call to announce a R2,4-million sponsorship by Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH) over three years. This takes the form of funding the State Theatre-based Ensemble's administration and an extensive education outreach programme in the schools and villages of the Rustenburg valley.
This launch at Northwards, a preserved Randlord mansion in Parktown, signalled the beginning of a significant cultural exchange bankrolled by the RBH, which is the holding company of the Royal Bafokeng Nation (RBN) located in the platinum-rich region of the North West Province.
As RBH's spokesperson, Mpueleng Pooe noted in his address this venture, with the exacting Western art form of classical opera at its centre, is a branding opportunity for the RBH and RBN linked to sustainable human development and upliftment.
“We are willing to pay a price to make our dreams come true. This association will give us a legacy for years to come. It adds to an already rich heritage within the communities of Rustenburg.”
This principal sponsorship agreement, which starts this month in schools, comprises introductory concerts; individual tuition in music, singing and life skills for up to 20 children; workshops for choir masters with a professional conductor and choir master and community concerts. In addition one or two singers will be selected at annual auditions in Phokeng for the BTE's incubator scheme.
RBH CEO Niall Carroll, who mooted the idea of this initiative after seeing the BTE performing at Le Canard restaurant in Sandton, is not unaware of the anachronism of why “a black rural group should back opera”. An initial idea was to create an orchestra but then it was decided “to start with a voice orchestra and the orchestra could come later. We said to the Black Ties we'll sponsor you and this we want in exchange”.
To date the RBH has spent money on infrastructure in the area and sports development (a 40-man Fifa delegation visited Phokeng and the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, a 2010 venue, last week) now this music project “will touch people's souls”.
Sadly Neels Hansen, who co-founded the Black Ties with Mimi Coertse in 1999, took ill and couldn't attend the function where seven of his singers and accompanist and coach Susan Steenkamp Swanepoel had the chandeliers shaking with Verdi, Mozart and Lehar.
Kgosi, who caught the performance, was visibly impressed. “I'm excited; there's so much we can do. I'll see you (in March) when you visit the schools,” the 36th king of the Bafokeng told the singers who are gearing up to conquer the bushveld.
