Chorus members were dismissed after challenging discrepancies in pay for appearing abroad in opera set in colonial AfricaSouth Africa’s main opera house has been accused of financially exploiting 12 singers who performed internationally in a controversial but critically acclaimed production of Mozarts Così Fan Tutte,set in colonial north Africa and portraying racial abuse and rape by fascist Italian troops.
The 12 black chorus members of the Cape Town Opera (CTO) were put on standard South African monthly pay rates of between 6000 and 11000 rand (£316-£580) for seven weeks of rehearsals and a heavy programme of performances in Aix-en-Provence, France, and before Così Fan Tutte transferred final week to Edinburgh.
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Source: theguardian.com